England spinner Sophie Ecclestone has opted for a break from domestic cricket to prioritise her well-being before the series against India. The 26-year-old left-arm spinner was recently left out of the national squad for their ongoing white-ball series against the West Indies.
The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), however, said that Ecclestone remained available for selection for the series against India. Apart from focussing on her well-being, Ecclestone took time off from the game to manage a minor quad injury.
Charlotte Edwards, who recently took charge as England women’s head coach after replacing Jon Lewis, backed Ecclestone’s decision to take a break.
“Sophie has been managing a quad niggle over the past week but, more importantly, she wants to take a step back from cricket for a short period to look after herself,” Edwards said in a statement.
“We’re totally behind that. We want to be able to select Sophie for the India series but the most important thing for her at the moment is that she feels in a better place. We all agree that a break now could be beneficial for her to achieve that,” Edwards added.
On the very day when England’s squad for the West Indies were announced, Ecclestone represented Lancashire in the Women’s One-Day Cup. Since then, the youngster has 14 wickets from eight matches, including a four-wicket haul against Surrey in the T20 Women’s County Cup final.
Ecclestone has been an effective spinner for England, having taken 297 wickets from 177 matches with seven four-wicket hauls and five five-wicket hauls. Ecclestone also plays for the UP Warriorz in the Women’s Premier League (WPL).
India’s tour of England starts on June 28 with the T20I series opener at The Trent Bridge in Nottingham. The T20I series will be followed by the ODI series, which is scheduled to get underway on July 16 in Southampton.
