Ecclestone to take time away from cricket to prioritise wellbeing

Sophie Ecclestone is taking a break from domestic cricket to manage her wellbeing ahead of India's tour of England starting later this month.

The ECB said Ecclestone remained available for selection for the India series, comprising five T20Is and three ODIs, but had decided to take time out to manage a minor quad injury as well as her wellbeing.

Charlotte Edwards, England Women's head coach, said: "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.

"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."

Ecclestone was left out of England's squads for the West Indies series while recovering from a knee injury but played for Lancashire in the Metro Bank One-Day Cup on the day the international squads were announced.

Since then she has played a total of eight matches across formats and competitions, taking 14 wickets - including 4 for 12 against Surrey in the T20 Women's County Cup final, which Lancashire won, and 2 for 24 in a Vitality Blast victory over Durham last Sunday. She has also scored 154 runs, including a half-century in the first 50-over game she played.

Speaking after England's nine-wicket victory in the rain-affected final ODI against West Indies in Taunton, Edwards added that she was confident Ecclestone would be available for selection against India, something she and captain Nat Sciver-Brunt would welcome.

"Soph's had a really tough six months in many ways, the Ashes then coming back and having that knee injury, not being quite ready for this series," Edwards said. "She played some county cricket so I'm almost certain that she'll be up for selection for the India series and both of us just want Soph back in this team and in a really good place and really happy.

"Hopefully this little break she's going to have will help her do that and we look forward to seeing again in England colours… I think this is the best preparation for Sophie Ecclestone to be ready for selection for India, and that's the most important thing to me."

In her absence from the England set-up, fellow left-arm spinner Linsey Smith claimed a five-wicket haul on ODI debut in the first match against West Indies in Derby and is the leading wicket-taker for the series with seven at an average of 9.00 and economy rate of 3.15. Smith sat out the third and final ODI against West Indies in Taunton on Saturday. Across the T20I series, she took three wickets at 19.33 and 4.83.

Despite the performances of Smith, legspinner Sarah Glenn - who was player of the match in Taunton with 3 for 21 - and off-spinner Charlie Dean, Edwards said Ecclestone's record meant she remained in contention for a swift England return.

"In terms of Sophie and her record, yeah, she's obviously one of the best spinners of the world," Edwards said. "We are going to have some selection headaches over the next week or so because that's what we wanted to create within this team, that people come in and perform. Lindsay's been amazing, Sarah Glenn's won player of the match, Deano's been brilliant, there's been some wonderful performances.

"We've got four of the best spinners in world cricket at the moment, which we are blessed to have, and going to a World Cup in India, who knows, we could be taking the four of them. Sophie's going to be a massive part of that as well."

Ecclestone's decision follows a difficult winter for England in which they were thrashed 16-0 on the Ashes tour of Australia. The trip was also marred by off-field headlines, including Ecclestone's refusal to give an interview to former team-mate turned broadcaster Alex Hartley.

That followed Hartley's criticism of the fitness levels of some England players when they crashed out in the group stage of the T20 World Cup last October.

In a wide-ranging interview after the Ashes defeat - which ultimately led to Jon Lewis being replaced by Edwards and Heather Knight losing the captaincy - Clare Connor, managing director of England women's cricket, described Ecclestone's interview refusal as "an unfortunate incident that won't happen again".

Late last month, Ecclestone dropped to fourth place on the ICC's world T20I bowling rankings with Pakistan left-arm spinner Sadia Iqbal taking the top spot. Ecclestone remains No.1 on the ODI rankings.