Nat Sciver-Brunt juggles captaincy, motherhood and injury ahead of England redemption quest

Nat Sciver-Brunt hasn't just been juggling life as a new working mum in recent weeks, but also an intensive rehab programme on an Achilles injury that means she will start her tenure as England Women's captain playing as a batter only.

Speaking publicly for the first time since her appointment as Heather Knight's successor a fortnight ago and becoming a mum with wife Katherine in March, allrounder Sciver-Brunt said she had been battling Achilles tendinopathy "on and off for years". But her maternity leave had allowed a clear six-week window to treat the injury - including painful shockwave therapy - which had her on track to bat during her first assignment as captain, when England host West Indies in two white-ball series starting on May 21.

"For now I haven't been bowling," Sciver-Brunt said. "Just from an Achilles perspective to build up my workload through playing, batting is important in terms of the next step up. So certainly for the first part of the summer I'll be playing as a batter.

"My intention is to keep bowling. I mean, bowling 10 overs every 50-over match probably isn't something that is sustainable for me. But I'd like to have a good role with the ball as well.

"It just came to a head and was very sore during the winter, so I was really glad to have a chance to have a good period of rehab so that I can go through the summer more pain-free, obviously with a big 50-over World Cup after the summer. I'm on track, which I'm really happy about."

Sciver-Brunt said she was still adjusting to "a new normal" since the arrival of son Theo, who will join Nat and Katherine on tour as England look to put their 16-0 Ashes drubbing at the hands of Australia in January behind them.

"It's been interesting, obviously doing everything I can to get back into cricket and whilst rehabbing my Achilles was important," she said. "Doing all of that and then being at home and there for Katherine and Theo has been tricky at times, but looking after a newborn is really rewarding.

"To be asked [to be captain] is a huge privilege and one that I didn't want to turn down. Obviously that doesn't come without its challenges in terms of where I'm at in my life and the changes that have happened outside of cricket, to becoming a mum and getting used to all of that, so it will be a new thing to get used to, but hopefully something I can take in my stride."

West Indies named their squad - without the injured Chinelle Henry and Deandra Dottin - on Tuesday and England were set to follow suit within 48 hours. During that time Lydia Greenway is expected to be confirmed as the national women's selector, a new position created to work alongside head coach Charlotte Edwards, England Women's managing director Clare Connor and director Jonathan Finch on a four-person selection panel.

Unlike Knight, Sciver-Brunt won't be part of the selection panel as captain, although she will have share her views in pre-selection meetings with Edwards and have a say in the starting XI for each match.

England are yet to settle on a leadership group to support Sciver-Brunt and on whether they will have a vice-captain. In her role as deputy, Sciver-Brunt was called upon a number of times to lead the side in Knight's absence, most recently midway through their T20 World Cup defeat to West Indies in October which resulted in England failing to reach the knockout phase of the tournament. Sciver-Brunt has a 9-3 win-loss record in the 12 matches she has captained for England - 11 T20Is, including at the 2022 Commonwealth Games, and one ODI.

"We've had some great success when I've stepped in to captain, but also lost a few games as well," she reflected. "Just learning from those experiences and working out the best way to help everybody on the pitch stay level and in the best place to perform well, that's the biggest learning, how to help people get back to their normal, which we've done a lot of as a group over the last year or so.

"I'll be having conversations with everybody just to work out the best way to work with them when we're on the pitch and what they would need from me to help them best work.

"As a leader, I want to empower everyone to be the best version of themselves, as a group I want us all to work really hard for each other and the team and themselves, and also making smarter decisions, with learning about the game and different experiences and using what we've done really well in the past and just tweaking it a little. We've got a great chance with a new coach, a new captain to start fresh I suppose, and look forward as a group. We'll look to tweak a few things and hopefully we can win a few more games."