Nat Sciver-Brunt is the newly appointed captain of the England women’s cricket team. Sadly, she’s not even able to roll this summer due to a chronic Achilles injury. The 32-year-old cricketer has had a nightmare with this particular bugbear. That pressure ramped up further during a difficult T20I series against Australia earlier this year.
Like many teams, Sciver-Brunt’s Achilles issue has robbed her of a true build-up to those key games. After the Women’s Premier League experience, she was instrumental in helping the Mumbai Indians win that league title. Now, she’s in a long rehabilitation process through her maternity leave. Her wife, Katherine, gave birth to their son in March, which did not help her recovery timeline complicating matters further.
Despite all of these obstacles, very recently Sciver-Brunt has been able to return to training. She will not be playing any longer in the West Indies and India series scheduled for next month. England have nine matches lined up before the 50-over World Cup, which is being held in India this fall. These matches are extremely important for the team as they look to find their balance in-tune before the tournament.
Charlotte Edwards, England’s head coach, conveyed how crucial Sciver-Brunt’s fitness is. She stated, “We’ve got nine games before the World Cup starts, so a lot of this is about us getting the right balance of team.” Edwards further explained that Sciver-Brunt’s workloads will start in a few weeks. This provides the team an opportunity to try other approaches while she is gone.
“Her workloads will start in a few weeks. It gives her an opportunity to look at other options, so we know we’ve got that balance if and when Nat comes back.” – Charlotte Edwards
Edwards continued, underscoring the group’s remarkable talent pipeline. He credited players such as Lauren Bell for her strong play and big series wins that helped lift the team to a berth in the NCAA Tournament. “And Lauren Bell was unbelievable today, you can see the competition forming. It’s an exciting time.”
As Sciver-Brunt leads her team in preparation for the World Cup, the focus remains on ensuring she is fit and ready to contribute fully when she returns to play. All of England’s coaching staff are fully dedicated to creating the best possible squad and shape for a side that’ll have their chances in their fixtures later this summer.
Leave a Reply