Paige Scholfield out of South Africa tour with ankle injury

Scholfield injured his ankle during training on Tuesday and, following further assessment on Wednesday morning, withdrew from the T20I squad to return to the UK and begin his rehabilitation.

Capsey had already been a late call-up for the tour of South Africa as cover for what England described as some minor issues within the T20 squad, leaving her spell in the WBBL with Melbourne Renegades, before Scholfield was injured.

Shortly before leaving the UK for South Africa, Scholfield spoke of her delight at being selected for the trip to her birthplace, having made her England debut at the age of 28 during the tour of Ireland in September.

“I thought it was my England coach who was calling me, so I got the wrong coach,” Scholfield told ESPNcricinfo about his call-up for the trip to Ireland. “It was so unexpected and I was so excited that I just couldn’t believe it was happening. If I’m honest, I’m still trying to regulate my feelings about it.

“I spoke to my mum and dad when I told them about this tour to South Africa, they were delighted, being die-hard South Africans, they just couldn’t believe it. My mum started crying. It’s very exciting and I just hope it keeps happening.”

Scholfield was the fifth highest run scorer in the Charlotte Edwards Cup T20 competition this year with 259 runs at an average of 43.16 and a strike rate of 140.00 with a top score of 73 not out. She also scored 190 runs in the Women’s Hundred, averaging 137.68 with a highest score of 71 off 40 balls playing for Oval Invincibles.

She credited the continued professionalisation of the female domestic structure in England and Wales, which began in 2020, for helping her achieve her goal of representing the country she has called home since she was 12.

“I’m 28 years old and I had very little hope of representing my country with these young people who are coming up and who are incredibly talented,” Scholfield said. “But this county setup now allows players like me to still have the ambition to represent their country and show the rest of the world what we can do, and that age is just the number and I can still throw myself in and hit a couple of balls .

“It’s an exciting time and I really enjoy where the game is going and I hope it continues to grow to the point where we can get to where the men are and make a career and travel the world doing it.”

The multi-format series between South Africa and England begins on Sunday with the first of three T20Is in east London, followed by three ODIs and a Test.