Charlie Dean, one of the gang and loving it

From questioning whether she belonged in an England shirt to being part of one of the coolest girl gangs around, Charlie Dean has found her place.

Boss of the off-spin department in England's four-pronged spin attack at the T20 World Cup, Dean says she is at ease with her role in the team, no longer feeling like she has to fight for position or fear failure.

"I'm certainly more self-assured now," Dean told ESPNcricinfo in Dubai. "I probably doubted why I was even in the squad or even on the pitch to begin with. I felt like I was there on potential and I felt like every game I played was a trial almost, I had to impress otherwise that was it, it was all going to be over.

"I've really matured into my role, into how I approach my cricket, because I love cricket but I always felt like if I did something wrong that was it. I really feel like I've grown as a person and as a player in terms of that self-confidence."

So far at the World Cup, 23-year-old Dean has taken three wickets at an average of 15.66 and economy rate of 5.87. That includes 2 for 22 against Bangladesh in England's first match of the tournament, where left-arm spinner Linsey Smith marked her return to World Cup cricket after nearly six years with 2 for 11.

Sophie Ecclestone, another left-armer and the long-time leader of England's spin attack was wicketless in that game but took 2 for 15 against South Africa. Legspinner Sarah Glenn has taken two wickets across both matches, which England have won to remain the only unbeaten side in Group B.

Helping the spinners is the fact that Enlgand's first three games, including Sunday's clash with Scotland, have been scheduled in Sharjah, where a low, slow pitch has played into their hands. Glenn, Ecclestone and Dean combined through the middle section of South Africa's innings last Monday to take three wickets for 18 runs in the space of 3.4 overs after Smith had removed opener Tazmin Brits inside the powerplay.

And Dean has learned, after working with England Women's assistant coach Gareth Breese early in her international career and overcoming the disappointment of being overlooked for last year's Ashes Test in England, that selection based on conditions is a positive, not a threat.

"It's really exciting to be in a place where you feel a bit more comfortable in a team, you know that you've got a role and it's quite nice to feel relied on a little bit or to have that responsibility," Dean said.

"Glenny and I, a lot of the time early on, we were competing for the same place, but to be able to be in the team with her is really exciting because although competitive sport is about that competition for places, it's really lovely to be able to work together.

"Four out and out spinners is quite rare, but it's a formula that's working really well for us, especially out here with the lower bounce and the more pace you have on the ball, the quicker it goes away. We're all really different spinners, and that adds another string to our bow."

Dean made her debut in the first of five ODIs against New Zealand during the English summer of 2021. In the second, she picked up 4 for 36 as the hosts won a rain-hit fixture in Worcester.

Four months later, she made her T20I debut in another rain-affected game, the second match in that leg of the Women's Ashes, where England reached 25 without loss before play was abandoned.

It would be nearly a year before she played another match in the format, on the tour of West Indies in December 2022, and she took 4 for 19 in the second of five games, which remain her career-best figures in 31 T20Is to date. She has also played 34 ODIs and two Tests.

"I'm just cherishing every moment," Dean said. "We're out here in Dubai and I've never been here before and playing for England, it's really special and it's something that I don't want to lose.

"But actually I realised, 'okay, I'm not going to if I continue to do the right things and enjoy it in the way I am'. I'm excited now as to where I can get to, which feels like a bit of a flip of mindset. It is just experience, growing up. People come into their prime in their late 20s, in their 30s even, so a bit of perspective and having those conversations and being aware of your vulnerabilities, of your self-consciousness.

"I'm being a bit more open about it and then people can be like, 'you're being ridiculous,' they can check you and make sure that you're going in the right direction. That's really helpful and time is the biggest builder of confidence. I'm lucky that I've been able to grow on that journey rather than maybe falling off before I managed to. I'm certainly a different person and I'm so excited for where this England journey could go."

Speaking on the eve of England's match against Scotland, captain Heather Knight agreed that her team's spin formula was a big plus.

"Against South Africa, left-arm spin was a really good matchup," Knight said. "The pitch we're going to play on tomorrow is the pitch we played against South Africa. What having a broad squad does give us is the opportunity to chop and change based on match-ups, based on conditions, and we feel like whoever we do bring in can do a really good job.

"Seam has still played a pretty big part in this tournament. That's been pretty hard for us to get away and particularly in the middle overs seam's been really tricky. It's a little bit of a balance of working out what our best attack is or what the best attack to win a certain game in certain conditions is. There is an option to change it, but that four spinners has worked quite well for us."