England have been left to sweat over the fitness of skipper Nat Sciver-Brunt after she retired hurt with a recurrence of her troublesome calf injury in their T20 World Cup victory over Ireland.
The all-rounder insisted that her retirement was simply a precaution after feeling tightness in the calf that had kept her out of England’s two most recent T20I series against New Zealand and India.
Walking off the field with England still needing nine runs to get over the line against Ireland – a task they eventually managed in a four-wicket success – Sciver-Brunt reassured afterwards, saying: “Just precautionary. Felt a bit of tightness in my calf and didn’t want to push it.”
Before she was forced to retire, Sciver-Brunt had joined forces with her predecessor as captain Heather Knight to dig England out of a little hole in a modest chase.
Ireland’s 118/9 never looked like being enough, but when Amy Jones and Danni Wyatt-Hodge both holed out to Gaby Lewis in the space of three balls, and Alice Capsey was yorked by Orla Prendergast, they were in a little strife at 35/3.
Knight and Sciver-Brunt – two of the survivors of England’s one-day World Cup success on home shores nine years ago – came together to add 64 for the fourth wicket and extinguish any Irish hopes of an upset win.
Knight was left a little frustrated when she fell for 26, trapped in front by Prendergast, before Sciver-Brunt’s own shock exit on 48 immediately after a boundary that had brought the target down to single figures.
The skipper will now undergo further tests to determine the severity of the injury, but Knight revealed afterwards that she did not seem unduly concerned about the issue. She said: “She was very chilled, very Nat, didn’t really say too much.”
Sciver-Brunt’s wife, Katherine, was in attendance in her broadcast capacity with Test Match Special, and her initial read was that it might not be too serious. She said: “It’s been a bizarre last hour of the game. Obviously, there are a few concerns for England.
“But Nat hasn’t been crying, and that’s a good sign. She’s not that easy to read, but from what I’m seeing, it’s not that bad. It could be a one-match situation.”
That next match is against Scotland at Headingley on Saturday. Should England win, they could be almost assured of a place in the semi-finals, which would give Sciver-Brunt some leeway in her recovery.
The recent series victories over New Zealand and India served as proof that England can cope without their skipper, a point underlined by Knight.
But this encounter also showed why she is such a valuable asset to the host nation.
When they started to wobble, it was Sciver-Brunt’s proactive approach, in conjunction with the more measured Knight, that ensured the game never really got away from them.
It helped that England had performed impressively with the ball. After an hour delay because of an unexpected rain intervention, they quickly made inroads in the Irish top order, Charlie Dean proving particularly effective as she opened with a wicket maiden on her way to figures of 2/11.
From 25/3, Ireland did respond thanks to a fluent 26 from the outstanding Prendergast, but her departure slowed their progress once more.
Even with Louise Little, in her first appearance of the tournament, hitting four fours off Lauren Bell in the final over, it did not look like Ireland had enough to truly trouble England.
And so it proved, even with the early wickets and Sciver-Brunt’s late retirement.
Earlier in the day, reigning champions New Zealand saw the defence of their crown suffer another body blow as they suffered a shock defeat to Sri Lanka.
Nilakshika Silva’s brilliant 54 not out carried the Sri Lankans to a memorable five-wicket victory, an impressive recovery after their opening thumping at the hands of England.
The White Ferns, meanwhile, have now been beaten narrowly in both of their first two fixtures, with further fielding errors proving costly.
They and Ireland will return to Southampton on Friday with both teams in must-win territory to have any hope of reaching the semi-finals.
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