London, July 3 (IANS) Tammy Beaumont will captain England for the first time in women’s T20Is after regular skipper Nat Sciver-Brunt has been ruled out of the third T20I against India, set to happen on Thursday, due to a left groin injury.

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) also said top-order batter Maia Bouchier has been called up to the T20I squad ahead of the match at The Oval as a cover. “Results of the scan will determine whether Sciver-Brunt is required to miss any more games in the series, with the fourth Vitality IT20 due to take place on Wednesday 9 July at Emirates Old Trafford,” said the ECB in its statement on Thursday.

Nat, the batting all-rounder, scored 66 during England’s crushing 97-run loss against India in the first T20I at Trent Bridge and was seen going off the field while fielding during the second match at Bristol, a game where she hit 13 as the hosts’ suffered a 24-run defeat.

“They (India) obviously got a big partnership together, which we probably didn’t adapt to as quickly as we would have liked. Everyone really stuck to the task and tried to grind it out, so the effort was there. We can really fight back and come back with some maybe fresh ideas but also be a little more clinical in the ones that we do want to execute,” Nat had said after the second T20I defeat at the Seat Unique Stadium.

England are 0-2 behind in the five-match series and a defeat at The Oval will mean they will lose a T20I series to India at home for the first time. The fourth T20I is scheduled to be held in Manchester on July 9, while the fifth game will happen on July 12 in Birmingham.

–IANS

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