England’s World Cup prep hit hard as Nat Sciver-Brunt ruled out of NZ and IND series
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Nat Sciver-Brunt (Source: Getty Images)
Published - 19 May 2026, 04:52 PM• Read time - 2 mins
England captain Nat Sciver-Brunt has been ruled out of the upcoming T20I series against New Zealand and India as she continues her recovery from a calf injury. Sciver-Brunt was earlier rested from the New Zealand ODI series as a precautionary measure ahead of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026, scheduled to be played in England and Wales, beginning on June 12.
She sustained the injury while playing for The Blaze in the ECB Women’s One Day Cup against Warwickshire. Further scans have now revealed she will take longer to recover and is set to miss England’s preparation for the home T20 World Cup.
Danni Wyatt-Hodge will also miss the New Zealand T20I series as she awaits the arrival of her first child. England have added Maia Bouchier and Charis Pavely to their squad as cover, while Charlie Dean will again fill in as skipper in place of Sciver-Brunt.
She recently led the team in the New Zealand ODI series, which was drawn 1-1. Bouchier had been called into the ODI squad as cover for Sciver-Brunt. She recently scored a match-winning 59 against New Zealand during the first ODI in Durham.
Pavely has been added as a batting cover for Alice Capsey, who missed the first ODI due to illness but returned to play for the remaining two matches of the series.
New Zealand T20I series begins on May 20
She has been in scintillating form in the ECB Women’s One Day Cup, having scored 466 runs from eight innings at an average of 77.66 and a strike rate of 110.95 with two hundreds and three fifties to her name.
Meanwhile, England's T20I and ODI groups have both been hit hard by injuries, as Mahika Gaur and Em Arlott were ruled out of the 50-over series due to a foot fracture and concussion, respectively.
Issy Wong, who is also part of the T20I squad, missed the ODIs with a hamstring injury suffered during the warm-up for the first game.
