| Kelly Castle | |
| Female: | true |
| Country: | England |
| Fullname: | Kelly Shannon Castle |
| Birth Date: | 4 September 1997 |
| Birth Place: | Southend-on-Sea, Essex, England |
| Batting: | Right-handed |
| Bowling: | Right-arm medium |
| Role: | All-rounder |
| Club1: | Essex |
| Club2: | Sunrisers |
| Year2: | 2020–2024 |
| Columns: | 2 |
| Column1: | WLA |
| Matches1: | 72 |
| Runs1: | 652 |
| Bat Avg1: | 11.64 |
| 100S/50S1: | 0/1 |
| Top Score1: | 52 |
| Deliveries1: | 1,882 |
| Wickets1: | 48 |
| Bowl Avg1: | 26.70 |
| Fivefor1: | 1 |
| Tenfor1: | 0 |
| Best Bowling1: | 5/18 |
| Catches/Stumpings1: | 16/– |
| Column2: | WT20 |
| Matches2: | 84 |
| Runs2: | 894 |
| Bat Avg2: | 15.68 |
| 100S/50S2: | 0/2 |
| Top Score2: | 75 |
| Deliveries2: | 1,205 |
| Wickets2: | 57 |
| Bowl Avg2: | 19.42 |
| Fivefor2: | 0 |
| Tenfor2: | 0 |
| Best Bowling2: | 3/6 |
| Catches/Stumpings2: | 25/– |
| Date: | 19 October |
| Year: | 2024 |
| Source: | https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Players/1004/1004523/1004523.html CricketArchive |
Kelly Shannon Castle (born 4 September 1997) is an English cricketer who currently plays for Essex. She plays as an all-rounder, bowling right-arm medium and batting right-handed.[1] [2]
Castle was born on 4 September 1997 in Southend-on-Sea, Essex.[2] She attended King Edmund School in Rochford and Anglia Ruskin University.[3] [4]
Castle made her county debut in 2011, for Essex against Middlesex. She scored a duck and did not bowl.[5] This was the only game she played in 2011, and played one more in 2012 before becoming more of a regular in the side from 2013 onwards. In 2015 she took her maiden county five-wicket haul, 5/18 against Scotland, and overall took 10 wickets at 14.80 in the County Championship.[6] [7] She was also her side's leading wicket-taker in the 2015 Women's Twenty20 Cup, taking 13 wickets at an average of 8.61.[8] In 2017, Castle hit her List A high score of 47, opening the batting in a victory over the Netherlands.[9] She was named as Essex's Twenty20 captain in 2018, and became captain in both formats in 2019.[10] [11] In the 2019 Women's Twenty20 Cup, Castle was her side's leading wicket-taker, with 7 wickets at an average of 12.42, and hit her Twenty20 high score of 48, in a win against Devon.[12] [13] She played six matches in the 2021 Women's Twenty20 Cup, scoring 42 runs and taking three wickets.[14] [15] In the 2022 Women's Twenty20 Cup, she scored her first two half-centuries, including 75 against Suffolk, scoring 167 runs overall as well as taking four wickets.[16] [17] [18]
In 2020, Castle played for Sunrisers in the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy. She appeared in all 6 matches, scoring 85 runs at an average of 17.00 and taking one wicket.[19] [20] In December 2020, it was announced that Castle was one of the 41 female cricketers that had signed a full-time domestic contract.[21] Castle was ever-present for the side in the 2021 season, and was the side's leading wicket-taker in the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy, with 10 wickets at an average of 21.10.[22] [23] She also scored her maiden List A half-century in the tournament, 52 against Lightning.[24] She also captained the side in the Charlotte Edwards Cup.[25]
Ahead of the 2022 season, Castle became the Sunrisers captain in all formats.[26] She played eleven matches for the side that season, across the Charlotte Edwards Cup and the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy, and was the side's joint-leading wicket-taker in the Charlotte Edwards Cup, with 7 wickets at an average of 16.85.[27] [28] In 2023, she played 18 matches for Sunrisers, across the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy and the Charlotte Edwards Cup, taking 15 wickets.[29] [30] She stepped down as captain of the side in June 2023.[31]
In October 2024, she signed a professional contract for Essex Women ahead of the 2025 women's domestic cricket restructure.[32] [33]
Castle was part of the England Development Programme at Under-15 level.[34]