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England spinner Charlie Dean has been named as the London Spirit's permanent captain ahead of The Hundred Women's 2026. The 25-year-old takes over the reins from Heather Knight, who stepped down from her playing role to become the side's General Manager.
Dean has captained London Spirit before, but never in a permanent capacity. The right-arm spinner led the franchise back in 2022 and 2025 whenever Knight was out injured. The England international will now captain the side she has been part of since
its inception in 2021.
“I cannot wait to get going with London Spirit once again. We have a really strong squad and it will be great to lead the team onto the pitch at Lord’s and around the country. We came close last year, and after winning in 2024, it would be amazing to get our hands on The Hundred trophy again. I am so excited to get back out there and get our campaign started. Come on the Spirit!," Charlie Dean said on the Lord's website.
Dean is the highest-capped London Spirit Women player in its relatively short history. She has gone on to make 39 appearances for the North London side, taking 25 wickets at an economy rate of 7.59. The spinner also formed part of the 2024 squad that won The Hundred Women's title at Lord's Cricket Ground, beating the Welsh Fire in the final by four wickets. Dean, along with India's Deepti Sharma, partnered to score the winning runs to secure the trophy.
Ahead of the inaugural The Hundred auction, Dean was retained by the London Spirit for a fee of GBP 85,000. She will now captain a side which comprises international stars, including Marizanne Kapp, Amy Jones, Nadine de Klerk and Deandra Dottin.
Dean is currently the stand-in captain of England in the absence of the injured Nat Sciver-Brunt. Under her leadership, the Lionesses secured a T20I series victory over New Zealand before taking on India ahead of the 2026 Women's T20 World Cup on home soil.
