England Expect Ecclestone To Play Through Pain In Cricket World Cup Semi

Nat Sciver-Brunt says she expects Sophie Ecclestone to play successful Wednesday’s World Cup semi-final against South Africa, contempt nan enarthrosis wounded sustained successful their match against New Zealand connected Sunday.

A consequent MRI scan connected Ecclestone’s near enarthrosis revealed a insignificant wounded to nan associated adjacent to her collar bone, but nan left-arm spinner was owed to train pinch England connected Tuesday evening.

Sciver-Brunt, nan England captain, did admit that Ecclestone mightiness struggle to vessel her afloat allocation of 10 overs, but said nan squad were assured they had nan options successful their lineup to woody pinch that business if it arose. Ecclestone bowled only 4 balls connected Sunday, leaving England limited connected nan part-time off-spin of Alice Capsey and nan barely-ever-seen leg-spin of Sophia Dunkley.

“I’m beautiful assured that she’ll beryllium fresh for tomorrow’s game,” Sciver-Brunt said “She [Ecclestone] mightiness not beryllium 100%. Hopefully a spot of adrenaline will thief her but we showed successful nan crippled against New Zealand that we were capable to accommodate nan bowling plans.”

England will besides return assurance from nan truth that it was their different left-arm spinner Linsey Smith who dealt nan captious blows successful their earlier group-stage lucifer against South Africa. On that juncture England triumphed by 10 wickets aft bowling their opponents retired for 69 – Smith skittling done Laura Wolvaardt, Tazmin Brits and Marizanne Kapp to time off them reeling.

“She’s been perfectly monolithic for our side,” Sciver-Brunt said of Smith, who has taken nan aforesaid number of wickets arsenic Ecclestone successful nan tourney – 12 apiece. “It’s ever a large work to unfastened nan bowling but she’s taken it successful her stride and really thought otherwise astir nan measurement she bowls.”

South Africa came unstuck against Alana King successful their last group crippled against Australia. Photograph: Unnati Naidu/SPP/Shutterstock

That illness could beryllium seen arsenic a once-in-a-blue-moon blip, were it not for nan truth that South Africa nigh-on repeated nan feat successful their astir caller outing of nan World Cup, blown distant for 97 by an Alana King-inspired Australia.

South Africa’s captain, Wolvaardt, is frankincense faced pinch nan formidable situation of dusting her broadside disconnected from 2 dreadful batting performances, while simultaneously trying to person them that they person nan capacity to conclusion England – a broadside they mislaid to successful nan semi-finals of nan 2017 and 2022 World Cups, and who they person defeated only erstwhile successful their past 8 ODI encounters.

“I deliberation for maine tomorrow it’ll conscionable beryllium astir keeping everyone arsenic calm arsenic possible,” Wolvaardt said. “Fifty overs is simply a very agelong clip and it’s very easy to fto nan unit of a semi-final get to you. But they’re nether a batch of unit arsenic well. The calmest squad retired location will astir apt win.”

Wolvaardt herself exemplifies calmness astatine nan crease, having already scored 3 half-centuries this tourney from nan apical of nan order. She will beryllium captious to her side’s hopes of making history connected Wednesday – they person ne'er reached a 50-over World Cup final. That puts England arsenic patient favourites, an unfamiliar and possibly uncomfortable explanation fixed their ain caller turmoil.

“To beryllium successful a knockout shape of a World Cup this early connected successful our tenure is really special,” Sciver-Brunt said, reflecting connected nan first six months of her business pinch nan caput coach, Charlotte Edwards. “We started nan tourney unsure of wherever we were compared to nan different teams successful nan world. But we ever wanted to travel to nan tourney to effort and win, sloppy of wherever we were successful our journey.”

“We’ve been a broadside successful transition, connected a journey, and arsenic a skipper that’s nan aforesaid for me. So I’m massively excited to beryllium successful nan knockout stages of this World Cup and to return connected nan crippled tomorrow.”

The returns of England’s mediate bid person been truthful mediocre that Edwards was forced to bring successful Danni Wyatt-Hodge astatine nan 11th hr to look New Zealand, presumably arsenic a measurement of giving her immoderate clip successful nan mediate earlier throwing her into nan semi-final. A people of 2 not retired from 7 balls is not, it must beryllium said, perfect mentation for a must-win crippled and could yet travel backmost to haunt England.

As ever, England must thin connected some their existent skipper and her contiguous predecessor, Heather Knight. Knight is their starring tourney run-scorer – 288 astatine an mean of 58 – having fought her measurement backmost from a superior hamstring wounded to characteristic successful this World Cup. “It’s for illustration she was ne'er away,” Sciver-Brunt said.

Still, moreover this comeback queen will beryllium acutely alert that astatine nan property of 34 she whitethorn not spot different 50-over tournament: it is do-or-die clip successful Guwahati.