England women’s cricket captain Nat Sciver-Brunt has returned home from the team’s training camp in South Africa due to family reasons, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) confirmed Thursday.
Sciver-Brunt, 33, is unlikely to rejoin the squad in Pretoria for the remainder of the intra-squad series, which is serving as preparation for the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup to be held in England this summer. While the ECB has not disclosed the specific nature of the family matter, sources indicate it does not involve her wife, Katherine Sciver-Brunt, or their son, Theo.
The training camp, initially scheduled for Abu Dhabi, was relocated to South Africa in response to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. England is utilizing the series of five intra-squad matches to build momentum ahead of the T20 World Cup, having not played a competitive fixture since the World Cup in October.
Thursday’s second intra-squad match saw Team Heyhoe Flint defeat Team Brittin, captained by Sophia Dunkley in Sciver-Brunt’s absence, by ten wickets. Team Brittin were bowled out for 70, after Sciver-Brunt had led the team to a nine-wicket win in Monday’s opening match, scoring an unbeaten 41 off 24 balls.
England are scheduled to host white-ball series against New Zealand and India prior to the T20 World Cup, which begins on June 2nd at Edgbaston with a match against Sri Lanka. The ECB has not commented on whether a replacement captain will be appointed for the remainder of the South Africa training camp.
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