Sciver-Brunt on course for batting role at World Cup after calf injury

Matches (21) WI vs SL (1) Vitality Blast Men (2) Asian Games Qualifier (3) ENG vs NZ (1) PAK vs AUS (1) GAK One Day (1) Ireland Tri-Nation Women (2) SCOT Tri-Nation Women (2) INTER-PRO T20 (2) ACC Women's Premier Cup (4) Eswatini T20 Tri (2) RESULT 1st ODI • Kingston (49.2/50 ov, T:304) 262 Sri Lanka won by 41 runs RESULT Vitality Blast Men • The Oval (14.1/20 ov, T:131) 134/2 Surrey won by 8 wickets (with 35 balls remaining) ScheduleTable UpcomingAsian Games Qualifier • Singapore Match starts in 4 hrs 28 mins ScheduleTable Upcoming1st Test • Lord's Match yet to begin Upcoming3rd ODI • Lahore Match yet to begin UpcomingFinal • GAK One Day • Amanullah Match starts in 2 hrs 28 mins ScheduleTable NO RESULT Ireland Tri-Nation Women • Dublin (16.5/20 ov) 111/7 ScheduleTable RESULT SCOT Tri-Nation Women • Edinburgh (12/12 ov) 124/3 (10/10 ov, T:105) 80/6 SCO Women won by 24 runs (DLS method) ScheduleTable RESULT Asian Games Qualifier • Singapore (6.3/20 ov, T:62) 64/1 Hong Kong won by 9 wickets (with 81 balls remaining) ScheduleTable NO RESULT INTER-PRO T20 • Bready (1.2/20 ov) 16/0 ScheduleTable RESULT Asian Games Qualifier • Singapore (20 ov, T:185) 164/5 Oman won by 20 runs ScheduleTable ABANDONED INTER-PRO T20 • Bready Match abandoned without a ball bowled ScheduleTable RESULT ACC Women's Premier Cup • Kuala Lumpur (2.2/20 ov, T:20) 21/0 THA Women won by 10 wickets (with 106 balls remaining) ScheduleTable RESULT ACC Women's Premier Cup • Kuala Lumpur (12.4/20 ov, T:65) 65/2 MYA Women won by 8 wickets (with 44 balls remaining) ScheduleTable RESULT ACC Women's Premier Cup • Bangi (0.5/20 ov, T:28) 30/0 UAE Women won by 10 wickets (with 115 balls remaining) ScheduleTable RESULT ACC Women's Premier Cup • Bangi (18.4/20 ov, T:106) 89 OMA Women won by 16 runs ScheduleTable RESULT Eswatini T20 Tri • Malkerns (20 ov, T:222) 136/6 Eswatini won by 85 runs ScheduleTable RESULT Eswatini T20 Tri • Malkerns (14.3/20 ov, T:132) 133/5 Mozambique won by 5 wickets (with 33 balls remaining) ScheduleTable UpcomingSCOT Tri-Nation Women • Edinburgh Match yet to begin ScheduleTable UpcomingIreland Tri-Nation Women • Dublin Match yet to begin ScheduleTable UpcomingVitality Blast Men • Taunton Match yet to begin ScheduleTable Valkerie Baynes Published: Jun 4, 2026, 1:51 AM (11 mins ago) Sophia Dunkley, Lauren Bell and Nat Sciver-Brunt in front of the screen at Piccadilly Lights • Getty Images Nat Sciver-Brunt hopes to bowl towards the back-end of England's home T20 World Cup, in which she expects play her first international match in more than seven months. A calf injury suffered while playing in the domestic One-Day Cup on April 29 ruled Sciver-Brunt out of the whole of England's competitive build-up to the tournament, which the hosts will open on June 12 against Sri Lanka at Edgbaston. As revealed by head coach Charlotte Edwards following England's series-clinching victory over India in the third T20I at Taunton on Tuesday, Sciver-Brunt is on track to play as a batter in warm-up games against Australia on June 8 and India on June 10. She is also expected to play in a batting role for the start of the World Cup, but hasn't given up on bowling later in the tournament if required.

"There's no sort of pressure to be an allrounder at this stage," Sciver-Brunt told ESPNcricinfo. "We've got a very balanced bowling attack that is covering a lot of bases, so there's not any pressure for me to bowl in the tournament. "But from a personal point of view, I'd like to be available to bowl a bit later on. There's two warm-up games into the first match, which is three games over five days, so it'd be stupid of me to try and do everything all at once.

Everything has gone to plan so far and all the sessions that I've done have been pain-free." Sciver-Brunt's readiness will come as a relief to England, for on-field reasons as well as off. On Wednesday, she joined Lauren Bell and Sophia Dunkley in promoting a 17.6m by 44.6m display in London's Piccadilly Lights. The display made them the first England cricketers, male or female, to appear on London's Piccadilly Lights as part of the This Feels Different campaign by the ECB and Metro Bank, aimed at encouraging girls to play cricket.

But the fact her team were able, in her absence, to secure 2-1 T20I series wins against defending champions New Zealand and leading contenders India without her was also encouraging. That's not least because the practicalities of building up Sciver-Brunt's bowling workloads in-tournament are, by her own admission, "not easy to predict" and a "day-by-day" prospect. Bell has led the seam-bowling to great effect in her absence, particularly taking by wickets in the powerplay, which became a focus after last year's 50-over World Cup. "When I came back from the World Cup in India, I looked at my game and highlighted the powerplay," Bell told ESPNcricinfo.

"As an area as, I'm in the team to take powerplay wickets, I probably wasn't delivering on that. "And so I had a period between getting back from the World Cup and going to the WPL, maybe two or three months of training, and you don't get that that often. So I had a really big training block of working on the powerplay stuff. I've worked really hard and I guess I have more clarity on what I'm trying to do." Bell had been England's sole specialist seamer for the last two games against India, with Issy Wong playing only the first after two against New Zealand and Lauren Filer none of the T20Is.

The successful return of allrounders Dani Gibson and Freya Kemp from back injuries helps bolster England's seam options, even if just for a handful of overs between them. Sciver-Brunt was impressed with the road they had travelled to make it back in time for the World Cup, while being thankful that her injury wasn't more serious. "The resilience that they've shown at such a young age is really special and inspirational," Sciver-Brunt said. "It's going to make for a few headaches in selecting that XI but, having had quite a long time in the England team without loads of seaming allrounders, it's a brilliant place to be in." "When it happened, in my mind - I've not had a calf niggle before - but I was like, 'oh, my calf's a bit sore,' I was sort of playing it down, I suppose, but the goalpost never got to missing any of the World Cup," she added.

"From that point of view, I felt confident that I was always going to be a part of it. Obviously, things can change very quickly, but I'm confident in my body so far that I'll be ready." Meanwhile, England's batters have stepped up, chiefly Alice Capsey, who made half-centuries as a stand-in opener against New Zealand as well as a match-winning No. 4 in the last match with India to stake her claim in the starting line-up. In that match, she shared a century stand with Heather Knight, whose timely 70 not out broke a run of middling scores. Opener Danni Wyatt-Hodge is still settling in after a period of parental leave, while fellow opener Sophia Dunkley is hunting a big score.

England's other top-order option, Amy Jones, scored a half-century at No. 3 against India in the first game. Sciver-Brunt watched from the sidelines as her side, led admirably by stand-in skipper Charlie Dean, appeared to be hitting form at the right time. "The first few games I was a bit jealous," Sciver-Brunt said. "Frustrating that I was on the sidelines, but getting to watch everybody with a different lens and taking in things that I wouldn't be able to whilst being out there on the pitch with everybody, has been really nice." Sciver-Brunt has had plenty of time to think about what it would mean for a side which has underperformed on the big stage in recent times to lift the World Cup trophy in the final at Lord's on July 5.

"What would it mean? That all of the hard work and everything that we've done in preparation was worth it, that we are the confident and successful team that we are," she said. "We show snippets of what we can be, but in a tournament [we] never quite get over the line in the close games. We have moments, but I guess it would be validation that we are a brilliant cricket team.

"It would mean a hell of a lot. I don't know if I can put it into words. I have allowed myself to feel like I might lift the trophy, but once that tournament starts, it'll be business as usual." Valkerie Baynes is a general editor, women's cricket, at ESPNcricinfo Terms of Use • Privacy Policy • EU Privacy Rights • Cookie Policy • Feedback