Nat Sciver-Brunt has been ruled out of England's next two T20 World Cup group stage fixtures after scans revealed she suffered a recurrence of an injury to her left calf while batting against Ireland last night.
The England captain retired hurt two runs short of a half-century with her side needing nine runs to secure a victory in their second match of the tournament in Southampton. England had suffered a scare when their top three were all dismissed within 10 balls of each other in pursuit of 119. But Sciver-Brunt and Heather Knight combined for a 64-run partnership to see them safe.
After hitting a four off the fifth ball of the 16th over, Sciver-Brunt walked off the field having experienced tightness in her left calf, which she had previously strained while playing domestic cricket earlier this summer. That injury kept Sciver-Brunt out of England's two warm-up series against New Zealand and India before the World Cup, and she played England's first two fixtures as a specialist batter.
On Wednesday, it was confirmed that Sciver-Brunt would undergo scans on her calf on Wednesday. The ECB said that she would be unavailable for their next two fixtures against Scotland (Saturday, June 20) and West Indies (Wednesday, June 24). "Nat will continue to be monitored and assessed by the England medical team as she undertakes her rehab while remaining in the squad," read a statement from the ECB.
Sciver-Brunt's injury is a cloud that tournament hosts could do without
There were questions over Sciver-Brunt's fitness when it was revealed she would only be available as a specialist batter for the start of the tournament. As England's premier allrounder, she balances the side perfectly, although there is mitigation for her role with both Freya Kemp and Dani Gibson in the side.
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Sciver-Brunt has been decisive in both of their wins in the tournament so far, scoring 46* against Sri Lanka before her innings in Southampton yesterday.
Having landed on a well-balanced XI with Amy Jones partnering Danni Wyatt-Hodge at the top – Jones hit a half-century in the tournament opener at Edgbaston – Sophia Dunkley will now almost certainly come back into the side. With Dunkley having batted exclusively as an opener in T20Is under Charlotte Edwards, her inclusion may prompt a minor reshuffle. One of Jones or Alice Capsey will likely move up to three, with Knight continuing at No.5.
While they're no strangers to operating without their captain and best player, England have looked brittle without Sciver-Brunt stabilising the top order. They struggled to find the balance between conserving wickets and advancing the strike-rate in the India and New Zealand T20I series, before Capsey and Knight struck gold at Taunton.
There's also the question of whether England will risk Sciver-Brunt in their final group game against New Zealand if they have already qualified for the semi-finals at that point, and whether she'll be fit for the knockouts should we get to that stage.
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