to give them practice against a left-arm spinner, who the Australian team was fielding in the form of Shelley Nitschke. After the practice session, Colvin was asked to be available for the four-day match by team coach Richard Bates. Team captain Clare Connor admitted that her inclusion was "pure hunch", believing that the dry, dusty wicket would be favourable to spin bowling. Bates explained to The Times that "the pitch [was] a little worn, and we felt that Holly could help us exploit it". Colvin made her England debut on 9 August 2005, becoming at 15 years and 336 days the youngest cricketer (of either sex) to play Test cricket for England. She took three wickets in her inaugural game, dismissing Kate Blackwell and Julia Price in two consecutive balls and nearly taking Julie Hayes for a hat-trick. Reminiscing over the experience in February 2008, Colvin remarked that "I think I was fortunate... I had no idea who I was playing against – all these big names that were coming up against me and I had pretty much no idea". She described her near-hat-trick as a "pretty special [moment]". Although Bates said that "she might have to wait a few years before she gets another chance [to play for England]", Colvin became a regular member of England's international teams. By August 2007, she had two Test matches and eleven One Day Internationals to her credit. In the Women's Quadrangular Series in India in 2006, Colvin took three wickets for 47 against New Zealand, and then 3 for 50 in the 3rd–4th playoff to secure the England team 3rd place. On 10 August 2007, Colvin took a wicket and two catches in her inaugural Twenty20 International match, against South Africa at Taunton. Despite being the smallest member of the squad – a photograph published by the BBC shows her fitting comfortably inside a cricket bag – she proved her worth in the subsequent three-match T20I series against New Zealand, taking wickets in both games that she played. In February 2008, Colvin played her third international Test match, on tour in Australia, as part of the England Women's Team defending the Ashes won in 2005. Colvin admitted that she felt "a little under pressure" before the one-match series; England had not won the Women's Ashes for 42 years prior to the victory in 2005. She claimed that the team were "definitely looking