Born in Southend, 27-year-old seam bowling all-rounder Castle is Essex born-and-bred, spending the past five years as captain of the previous semi-professional iteration of the Eagles’ women’s side.

She was signed by Sunrisers in the autumn of 2020 after playing for them in the inaugural Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy, and went on to total 48 appearances in both formats, taking 38 wickets at 29.79.

Castle, who made her Essex debut at the age of just 14 and was Sunrisers captain from 2021 to 2024, is also handy with the bat, scoring 380 runs for the regional side with a top score of 52.