World No.1 women's ODI spinner Sophie Ecclestone will take a break from domestic cricket in order to manage a quad injury, but will remain available for selection for England's upcoming white-ball series against India.
Ecclestone left the field during a T20 Blast game, in which she was playing for Lancashire, last week, with an update coming later that she was managing a quad injury. She was left out of England's first international squads under new coach Charlotte Edwards last month, as she had been unable to play enough domestic cricket prior to selection as she recovered from a knee injury she picked up over the winter.
However, a statement from the ECB clarified that Ecclestone remains available for selection for England's upcoming series against India, which begins on June 28. England will play five T20Is and three ODIs against India, who are touring the country for the first time since 2022.
England Women head coach Edwards said: “Sophie has been managing a quad niggle over the past week but more importantly she wants to take a step back from cricket for a short period to look after herself. We're totally behind that. We want to be able to select Sophie for the India series but the most important thing for her at the moment is that she feels in a better place. We all agree that a break now could be beneficial for her to achieve that.”
In Ecclestone's absence from the England side, Hampshire left-arm spinner Linsey Smith has made a successful start to her ODI career, taking five wickets on debut against West Indies. Smith also played a starring role in England's T20I series win over West Indies, taking three wickets in as many games.
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Ecclestone's break from the domestic game means she is likely to be unavailable for much of the rest of Lancashire's T20 Blast campaign. They currently sit in sixth place in the Tier One table, with Ecclestone having taken two wickets in the two matches she's played in the competition.
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