Sophie Ecclestone plays waiting game ahead of Women's T20 Challenge

Sophie Ecclestone, the England left-arm spinner, is hoping to be involved in the Women's T20 Challenge in the UAE but is yet to receive an invitation from the BCCI for the tournament.

Six England players flew to Australia on Saturday to begin a two-week quarantine period ahead of the Women's Big Bash League (WBBL) but Ecclestone, the No. 1 T20I bowler in the world according to the ICC's rankings, was not among them.

Instead, speaking in a Zoom session for the NatWest Cricket Awards, Ecclestone expressed her desire to be part of the tournament, which Cricday revealed is due to be staged from November 4-9 in the UAE.

"I'm really hoping to be involved in it," she said. "I don't think we know exactly what's going on yet, or exactly when it's going to be - I think it might follow the men's - but a few of us would definitely be really interested in going if it did come up."

Ecclestone was one of three England players involved in the 2019 edition of the T20 Challenge, alongside Danni Wyatt and Nat Sciver, and impressed with the ball, taking 2 for 11 and 0 for 13 from her four-over allocations in her two appearances.

She is expected to be invited to take part again - not least with several marquee overseas players participating in the WBBL instead - but admitted that she had not yet received an offer.

"The BCCI are very last-minute with their plans so we're still waiting for an email," she said, "but hopefully a few of the girls get asked to go."

Sophie Ecclestone was part of the first NatWest Cricket Awards, a combination of the PCA awards and NatWest OSCAs, which honours both the community cricket club heroes and professional stars of the season in one event. The first NatWest Cricket Awards, a combination of the PCA awards and NatWest OSCAs, honours both the community cricket club heroes and professional stars of the season in one event to celebrate the game from the ground up in recognition of an extraordinary year for the sport