Pretoria, March 19 (IANS) England Women's cricket team captain Nat Sciver-Brunt has left the intra-squad training series and returned home due to family reasons.

Sciver-Brunt is expected to miss the remainder of the tour, which was seen as a key practice for the upcoming ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2026 in England from June 12 to July 5.

"Nat Sciver-Brunt has returned home from South Africa for family reasons. It is expected she’ll play no further part in the tour," the England Cricket Board said in a statement.

England had originally planned for the squad to travel to the UAE earlier in March. However, the trip was cancelled after the security situation in the region deteriorated following US-Israeli air strikes on Iran and subsequent retaliatory strikes by Iran across the Gulf.

England Women then travelled to Pretoria for an extended training programme and a five-match intra-squad T20 series scheduled to run from March 10 to 27. England have not played any competitive cricket since October and do not have international fixtures scheduled this winter.

For the camp, the players were divided into two squads that were competing against each other in the T20 series.

Team Heyhoe Flint, named after England great Rachael Heyhoe Flint, is captained by England vice-captain Charlie Dean. The squad includes experienced players such as former skipper Heather Knight and leading spinner Sophie Ecclestone. England assistant coach Luke Williams will guide the side.

Team Brittin, named after England legend Carole Hodges Brittin, was led by captain Sciver-Brunt, but she has left her team midway. Former Durham batter Jon Lewis, who is the coach of the team, will have to find a new skipper for the rest of the intra-squad matches.

England are placed in a tough Group 2 in the Women's T20 World Cup. They will face the West Indies, New Zealand, Sri Lanka and Ireland in the group stage.

--IANS

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