Nat Sciver-Brunt Overcomes Injury to Lead England into T20 World Cup Semifinal]
Sciver-Brunt returns as captain for the crucial clash after missing the past three matches of England’s undefeated campaign upon retiring hurt against Ireland in the second game.
Since then, she has embarked on an intensive, high-tech regimen of treatment in an effort to return for the knockout phase of the tournament. Those treatments have included oxygen therapy and seven one-hour sessions of magnetic resonance therapy, sometimes referred to as MBST, which uses electromagnetic energy to stimulate cells and promote recovery.
“There’s a bit of research out there about BST but, yeah, we literally threw everything at it,” Sciver-Brunt told reporters at The Oval on the eve of the semi-final. “I worked really hard to get myself to this position and the sports science and medicine team helped too, so I’m really happy to be sat here. Everything has gone to plan as well as it could do, really. We used various different methods to get the recovery right.”
The injury was a recurrence of the calf tear she suffered while playing domestic cricket on April 29, which kept her out of England’s entire competitive build-up comprising home series against New Zealand and India. She played both warm-up games, scoring 3 against Australia and 57 against India before innings of 46 not out and 48 against Sri Lanka and Ireland respectively at the World Cup.
She was initially expected to miss two games at the tournament when the injury recurred, but was then ruled out of England’s last group-stage match against New Zealand. She spent about half an hour batting in the nets on Wednesday morning but didn’t take part in any outdoor fielding drills.
“We always had this game in mind,” she said. “The New Zealand game came a little bit too soon, because time is our friend. This game was the target, so those things went to plan.
“We’ve tested it enough to be comfortable and I suppose what will happen out on the pitch will happen. I’m really happy with where I’m at physically. I guess there’s always a risk, isn’t there, with these things?
“But you feel when you weigh up the balance, it’s worth taking that risk given where you are in the tournament and everything else. Physically, I’m able to take part in all of the game so, from that point of view, I’m really happy.”
Nat Sciver-Brunt was passed fit for the semi-final•ICC/Getty Images
Sciver-Brunt chose not to reveal until the toss who would make way for her but acknowledged that someone would be disappointed.
Sophia Dunkley came in at No. 3 in her absence, having previously been overlooked at the tournament following a lacklustre summer up to that point and is the most likely candidate to swap out for her captain. Dunkley has made scores of 57, 14 and 49 not out while back in the starting XI. Alice Capsey has scored 73 runs across three games at No. 4.
Meanwhile, Danni Wyatt-Hodge is the leading run-scorer for the tournament with 282 runs so far at an average of 94 and a strike rate of 153.26. Since scoring a half-century in the opening match against Sri Lanka, fellow opener Amy Jones, England’s wicketkeeper has struggled with the bat, failing to pass 17.
But while England’s top order have been managing well in her absence, Sciver-Brunt’s inclusion gives her side a psychological boost ahead of their encounter with a team who beat them in the semi-finals of the 2023 T20 World Cup and last year’s 50-over edition.
“The group of players that we have here are quite different to times before,” Sciver-Brunt said. “I suppose there are people that have played in all of those games. They’re a world-class team and have made it to lots of the finals in previous World Cups. They’re a team that are extremely competitive and one that we’ve had a great battle between in the last few years.”
Laura Wolvaardt will look to return to her best in the semi-final•ICC/Getty Images
The hosts have had a dream run to the semi-finals while South Africa have done it tougher, losing to Australia in their first match and wobbling during victories over Pakistan and Bangladesh.
Laura Wolvaardt, South Africa’s captain, said her side were still searching for their best game at this tournament and acknowledged that Sciver-Brunt’s inclusion would make that more difficult.
“As a captain, it’s always hard to plan for her,” Wolvaardt said. “She’s a world-class batter and able to hit really weird areas and setting a field is quite hard for her. We’ll just have to prep well, hopefully we’re able to keep her quiet. They’re a world-class side but hopefully we’ll be able to come out on the top tomorrow.”
Valkerie Baynes is a general editor, women’s cricket, at Cricinfo
