England Women all-rounder Nat Sciver, who had been named the stand-in captain in the absence of injured Heather Knight, has pulled out of the upcoming white-ball home series against India in order to concentrate on her mental health and wellbeing.
As confirmed by ECB, the 30-year-old left the team’s camp in Durham to return home. Earlier, Sciver’s wife Katherine Brunt was left out of the squad for the T20Is, with Lisa Keightley saying Brunt would “rest across both the T20 and ODI series…. with a view to maximising her mental and physical recovery off the back of what has been an intense year so far”.
“I’ve played a lot of cricket over the last nine months and I am very emotionally fatigued. Elite sport demands a lot and for the moment I’m not able to perform without compromising my own wellbeing, so I need to take some time away from cricket in order to focus on myself. It’s the right decision for me and it’s the right decision for the team,”
Sciver said.
Sciver had also stepped down from the captaincy of Trent Rockets midway through the Women’s Hundred 2022 recently, to “focus on her own game”, as stated by the team spokesperson at the time.
Jonathan Finch, Director of England Women’s Cricket, said:
“We fully support Nat and her decision to step away from this series. Cricket is important, but it is wholly insignificant in the context of an individual’s health and happiness.”
Amy Jones has been named the captain of the three-match T20I series, to be played between September 10 and 15, with a replacement to be called up ahead of the second match.
The teams will then face off in as many ODIs, on September 18, 21 and 24, respectively.
