Paige Scholfield Withdrawn From England's T20 Squad For Their South Africa Tour

The batter will return to the UK and begin her rehabilitation after she hurt her ankle during training

Paige celebrates after scoring the winning runs during the Charlotte Edwards Cup match between South East Stars and Lancashire Thunder on May 24, 2024.She made her England debut at the age of 28 during the tour of Ireland in September. / Steve Bardens/Getty Images.

By Ian Omoro

After suffering an injury during training, Paige Scholfield will depart England's South Africa tour before it starts. Scholfield injured her ankle during Tuesday's training session, and after additional evaluation on Wednesday morning, she left the T20I team to head back to the UK and start her recovery.

 "Paige Scholfield has been withdrawn from the England Women T20 squad to tour South Africa after suffering an ankle injury," England Cricket posted on X.

She was one of two changes made to England's T20I squad, which lost in the group stages of the World Cup last month. She was brought in to give the middle order more firepower, while all-rounder Dani Gibson was ruled out following knee surgery and batter Alice Capsey was left out due to a decline in form. Lauren Filer, a fast bowler who missed the World Cup, was also included.

Before Scholfield's injury, Capsey had previously been called up late to the South Africa touring group to cover for what England characterized as some minor niggles within the T20 squad, ending her WBBL stay with the Melbourne Renegades.

With 259 runs at an average of 43.16 and a strike rate of 140.00, including a best score of 73 not out, Scholfield finished as the fifth-highest run scorer in this year's Charlotte Edwards Cup T20 competition. As a member of the Oval Invincibles, she also amassed 190 runs in the Women's Hundred, hitting 137.68 with a highest score of 71 off 40 balls.Scholfield attributed her success in representing the nation she has lived in since she was 12 to the continued professionalization of the domestic women's organization in England and Wales, which began in 2020.

South Africa and England's multi-format series begins on Sunday with the first of three Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is) in East London. Followed by three One-Day Internationals (ODIs) and a Test.

After facing South African women in the first T20I at East London, the two teams will meet in Benoni for the second match on November 27 before concluding the third match on November 30 at Centurion. The first ODI match of the tour will be a day-night affair, with the two teams meeting at Kimberley on December 4, followed by games in Durban on December 8 and Potchefstroom on December 11. South Africa and England will meet in the only Test of the series, which begins at Bloemfontein on December 15.

England Women T20I squad:

Heather Knight (captain), Lauren Bell, Maia Bouchier, Charlie Dean, Sophia Dunkley, Sophie Ecclestone, Lauren Filer, Sarah Glenn, Bess Heath, Amy Jones, Freya Kemp, Nat Sciver-Brunt, Linsey Smith, Danni Wyatt-Hodge