England spinner Charlie Dean will captain London Spirit in this year’s Hundred in place of Heather Knight, who is recovering from a hamstring injury.
Former England skipper Knight led Spirit to their first title last year but has been ruled out for the summer after sustaining the injury in the third T20 against West Indies in May.
Dean, 24, previously led Spirit in 2022 when Knight was absent with a hip problem and they finished seventh in the table.
Knight will stay with the team in a coaching and mentoring role throughout the tournament and has been replaced in the side by Surrey batter Kira Chathli, who has previously represented Oval Invincibles.
“We have a great squad and I know the expectation will be high after winning the competition last year,” said Dean, who has been with Spirit since the first year of the tournament in 2021.
“I am gutted Heather won’t be playing with us this year, but it’s brilliant that she’ll still be around to help us out. Tapping into her experience and knowledge will be invaluable.”
Spirit have also appointed Chris Liddle, their former pace bowling coach, as their new head coach, replacing Ashley Noffke who has taken a role with Pakistan’s men.
