In The Hundred, Heath’s strike-rate of 179.55 is the third highest in the women’s competition. Her ability to find, and often clear, the leg-side boundary has helped Superchargers reach the eliminator.
“We’ve got a year now until the World Cup and I’m trying to figure out which players to take to Bangladesh,” England coach Lewis said.
“It’ll be really interesting to see how a lot of these young players do. It’ll give us some good insight into whether or not they’re ready to play international cricket.
“Bess is an all-action cricketer who impacts games and is a great fit for how we want to play.”
England will be aware that with Heath they are investing as much in the player she can become as who she is now.
Four T20 half-centuries aged 22 are a clear indication of her talent, and although an average of 15.75 in the format shows there is room for improvement in terms of consistency, strike-rate is arguably just as important in the shorter forms.
In 2023, Heath’s T20 strike-rate is a hefty 159.83.
A much healthier average of 38.89 in 50-over cricket, while still boasting a strike-rate of 104.08, is also very promising.
“The biggest thing is that she strikes such a clean ball,” Armitage added.
“She offers something that only a minimal amount of female cricketers can do. She can hit the ball over the boundary, no matter what size they are, and that is extremely important.
“She can face 10 balls and get 30, and especially if you come in down the order, when you might only have 10 balls to make an impact, she is someone who can always take the game on.
“Imagine what she’ll be like when she can bat 20, 30, 40 balls? She’ll be on for one of the fastest hundreds I reckon.”
In both formats, Heath has shown a preference for facing pace bowling, striking at 125.92 against seamers compared with 106.40 when facing spinners in T20 cricket, according to CricViz.
If she can bring that spin number in line with the pace one, her appeal to England for the T20 World Cup in Bangladesh would be even greater.
“She’s a destructive batter and she’s putting pressure on not only the openers in the England team but Amy Jones, who has been first on the teamsheet for a very, very long time because she’s the only wicketkeeper,” Hartley added.
“Well, now Bess Heath is there. She might have the gloves, she can open the batting and can also bat in the middle order.
“I’m excited to see, if and when she plays, her put pressure on Amy Jones and others.”
Armitage has no doubts that Heath’s call-up is just the start.
“I’ve played with her a lot. You can see how she has developed over the last couple of years, and obviously the brand of cricket she plays is what England are trying to play now,” she said.
“I can see her keeping improving and doing what she’s doing and playing for England for a long time.”