England’s T20 World Cup aspirations have received a significant boost with the return of captain Nat Sciver-Brunt from a calf injury, though head coach Charlotte Edwards has indicated the star all-rounder is unlikely to bowl during the tournament. Sciver-Brunt, a pivotal figure for England, is set to bolster the batting line-up as the team prepares for their campaign.
The 33-year-old suffered a calf tear in April while playing in the domestic Women’s One-Day Cup, forcing her to miss England’s recent series against New Zealand and India. Despite this setback, Sciver-Brunt remains England’s second-highest scorer in women’s Twenty20 internationals with 2,960 runs and their fourth-highest wicket-taker with 90 wickets across 137 matches, underscoring her immense value.
Speaking after England’s six-wicket victory over India, which sealed a 2-1 series win, Edwards told Sky Sports: “It is obviously really good for us that Nat is coming back into the team and hitting the ball well. She is fine and ready to go. She probably won’t bowl but her batting is something that she is best in the world at.”
Edwards also confirmed Sciver-Brunt’s preferred batting position: “She wants to bat number three. She has done very well in global franchises there and that’s where she wants to be. It’s important she bats where she wants.”
Edwards also praised former captain Heather Knight, whose unbeaten 70 in the third T20i against India was instrumental in chasing down 181 and securing the series.
“It’s been quite interesting listening to some of the press this week,” Edwards told BBC Sport. “I think the more that people have been writing her off, the more I just knew she was going to put in a performance like this.”
The head coach added: “I spoke to her after her record game [at Chelmsford] about her character and how that is one of her biggest attributes, and we saw that in abundance tonight. It was really lovely for her to have that performance going into the World Cup, but there were no doubts in our dressing room about Heather.”
England will play warm-up matches against Australia and India next week before opening their World Cup campaign against Sri Lanka on June 12 in Birmingham.
