Sciver-Brunt unlikely to bowl this summer
England head coach Charlotte Edwards has confirmed that captain Nat Sciver-Brunt is unlikely to bowl this summer. All-rounder Sciver-Brunt, 32, has been recovering from a long-standing Achilles problem which worsened during England's thrashing by Australia in the Women's Ashes at the start of the year.She subsequently played a starring role in Mumbai Indians' Women's Premier League win but had a long period of rehabilitation afterwards, which coincided with her maternity leave. Sciver-Brunt was appointed England captain last month, shortly after her wife, former England bowler Katherine, gave birth to their son in March. "I feel these games are really big for us," Edwards told Sky Sports after England started hers and Sciver-Brunt's reign with a comprehensive T20 series clean sweep against West Indies. "We've got nine games before the World Cup starts, so a lot of this is about us getting the right balance of team."Nat's not bowling this series and she's probably not going to bowl most of the summer. We want to make sure she's fit and firing for the World Cup. "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." England face West Indies in three one-day internationals starting at Derby on Friday, followed by three-match T20 and ODI series against India across June and July.But Edwards and Sciver-Brunt's first major assignment comes in the autumn, with India hosting the 50-over World Cup.
Edwards also praised the new or returning faces in England's T20 squad, including seamers Em Arlott - who made her international debut in the first match at Canterbury and ended the series with six wickets - and Issy Wong, who had been out of the side for a couple of years after a dip in form. Sophie Ecclestone, the world's number one-ranked bowler, was left out of the side to regain fitness after a knee issue but her fellow left-arm spinner Linsey Smith also performed well, taking three wickets at a miserly economy of 4.83 across the three matches."With Em Arlott, we've all seen her in domestic cricket and how good she's been but to come here and look at ease in international cricket in her first few games is really pleasing," sad Edwards. "And Linsey Smith is a proven performer and probably unlucky to be around at the same time as Sophie Ecclestone. She's taken her opportunity with both hands and that's all you can do."And Lauren Bell was unbelievable today, you can see the competition forming. It's an exciting time. "Mahika Gaur and Kate Cross are coming back into the ODI team. We've suddenly got this battery of fast bowlers forming which is going to give me a few headaches, but good headaches."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BBC News
10 minutes ago
- BBC News
Top five Cherries of season
One Cherries fan has joined BBC Radio Solent to give his top five Bournemouth players of the 2024-25 season - and he thinks his number one choice may be "controversial".Do you agree with his picks?Listen to his selections here on BBC Sounds
Telegraph
14 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Rugby is more dangerous for wingers than any other position
The press box at Ashton Gate offers an impeccable view of the pitch, which often brings small instances – such as friendly fire during the warm-ups – to the attention. On Saturday afternoon, as the Harlequins starters were running against replacements and travelling reserves half an hour before kick-off, Rodrigo Isgro and Jake Murray charged in opposing directions to vie for a high ball. They leapt into the air and whacked into one another, with Murray coming off worse. Clearly in some pain, the young scrum-half peeled himself off the floor. Fortunately, he would be fit to come off the bench against Bristol Bears later on. Topsy Ojo, meanwhile, was preparing to commentate for BBC Radio 5 Live high up in the media seats. The former London Irish favourite winced. Fairly or unfairly, wing used to be regarded as the position where one could most easily avoid the physical stuff and keep a clean shirt. These days, chiefly because of a refereeing directive that has made a profound impact, back-three players must be immensely courageous because many believe that the pivotal battleground of aerial competition has become as perilous as anything in rugby. Fans of rugby union have become accustomed to the concept of unintended consequences and an apparent increase in aerial collisions is a result of the crackdown on 'escorting'; the practice of teams protecting their own back-field catchers by shepherding chasers after an opposition kick. Angus Gardner set a decisive tone during England's loss to New Zealand last November, demanding that players be granted 'access' to the ball, and the sport has looked different since. Training practices, tactics and even recruitment have been influenced. Trends are cyclical, and one source stressed the point that it is less than a decade since there was a push to protect catchers with a spate of red cards for reckless chasing. 'You are essentially encouraging contact in the air now, which only seems to get penalised if something bad happens,' a senior Premiership coach said. 'The duty of care for the catcher, which was there a few years ago, appears to have gone. I think that's very, very strange. Only a couple of years ago, we were trying to reduce those situations. Now, we're openly trying to get more of them. 'It's definitely more dangerous now, of course it is. You can go up high, at pace and bump the catcher. That's how we have to coach it. And that's very challenging because you don't want to risk injury in the week, but you have to expose them to what it is going to be like in a game. 'Catchers need to really own the space and almost go through the chaser, where the chaser has free licence to make contact. It seems very like AFL.' AFL laws allow players to call for a mark anywhere on the pitch provided the ball has been kicked 15 metres, which obviously heightens the significance of a clean catch. By last summer, escorting in rugby union had effectively become coordinated obstruction. Possession from kick-returns was so reliable that it was treated like another set-piece and the 'gloves' of backpedalling team-mates that cocooned catchers were ugly on the eye. Authorities were also eager to create more broken-field scenarios. Alex Goode, the Saracens full-back who bowed out last weekend after 402 club appearances, remains highly sceptical. 'I don't think it's better for the game,' he says. 'Escorting had probably gone too far, but it's now chaos. You've got guys running into the air and colliding with each other and the refs are in a difficult position. 'It just encourages more kicking, because there is such a good chance of winning back the ball. There was a theory that there would be more transition situations and more unstructured attack, but I don't think that's coming to fruition.' Saracens train 'live' aerial drills once or twice a week, but Goode fears that the injury situation 'will only get worse' because 'there are collisions left, right and centre'. It is understood that governing bodies are more focused on eradicating 'always illegal' actions such as shoulder charges and reckless actions against vulnerable players at the breakdown. Ben Stevenson, the Newcastle Falcons wing, copped a ban this week after being sent off for a mistimed challenge that flipped Santiago Carreras of Gloucester, showing that sanctions are still doled out. Ojo highlights Freddie Steward as an emblem of how the landscape has changed. Close to indispensable to England at one point, the Leicester Tigers full-back was usurped by George Furbank as head coach Steve Borthwick leant into kick-return as a source of attacking impetus. Steward could find himself coveted again soon because there is agreement that chasers have a big advantage. 'Before, chasers had to work a bit harder to get around the escort while keeping their eye on the ball and then getting up,' Goode adds. 'The kick had to be good and the chase was something you had to really refine to make it a skill. Now, it does seem a bit too easy to get up and spoil with one arm. I'd say that it encourages a more kick-focused game.' Andy Farrell's cohort of back-three players in the British and Irish Lions squad leaves little doubt over the importance of aerial prowess. Tommy Freeman, Mack Hansen, James Lowe, Duhan van der Merwe, Elliot Daly, Hugo Keenan and Blair Kinghorn all stand at least 6ft. Darcy Graham, who is 5ft 9in, was overlooked. 'I think [the directive] will affect recruitment strategies over the coming years,' suggested one source. 'Wingers' values had dropped, if you look at the positional stuff that comes out of the salary-cap report. People weren't spending as much money on them because they were putting it towards other areas. 'The change means a full-back who is very, very good in the air becomes more important and valuable. It will be the same for wingers who can go and get the ball. 'Will Muir is probably the best in the Premiership. He owns the space really well, he's brave in the air and goes for it with one hand a lot of the time. Kyle Steyn had a field day there on Friday night for Glasgow Warriors against Stormers as well.' The days of wings keeping a low profile and returning to the changing rooms in spotless kit are long gone. In the air, fierce commitment is critical and danger now comes with the territory.
BBC News
23 minutes ago
- BBC News
Leeds owners 'can't spend wildly' so 'need to be cute and clever'
BBC Radio Leeds' Adam Pope says club owners 49ers Enterprises will have to be "cute and clever" with summer recruitment following a BBC article with football finance expert Kieran Maguire that suggested a £100m transfer spend could be over the funds available to Leeds has intensified since a US-based consortium, including the investment arm of the San Francisco 49ers, completed a multi-million pound takeover of Scottish Premiership side Paraag Marathe will work as Rangers' new vice-chairman alongside his existing position at Elland Road."The interesting thing for me is I read an article over the weekend pertinent to Leeds by Kieran Maguire, who is really good," Pope told the Don't Go To Bed Just Yet podcast."He has looked at what everybody can spend in the Premier League and he mentioned Leeds might be looking at £100m to spend at the top end."This doesn't really go that far because they had two years in the Championship so this year of the three-year cycle they can afford to lose £61m. "You can't spend wildly so people who are talking about what the owners are putting into Rangers and what they're not putting into Leeds - there are limits. £100m doesn't sound a right lot so they have to be cute, they have to be clever."The podcast team were also keen to reflect on a day of celebration in the city before turning total attention to next season, after fans and players attended a huge Kaiser Chiefs gig on Saturday."The fact it was a whole day of celebrations rather than just jamming it into two hours was so good," Pope added. "The whole day felt like one big celebration."It has been a great year and this was the culmination of two great weeks following Leeds going up and the Bristol City game and then the Plymouth game to win the league with all the drama."It just felt like that period of celebration was all extended until this."Listen to the full episode on BBC Sounds
