Sciver-Brunt suffered a calf injury while playing in the domestic One-Day Cup on 29 April, ruling him out of England’s entire competitive tournament, which the hosts open against Sri Lanka at Edgbaston on 12 June.
“There’s no pressure to be an all-rounder at this level,” Sciver-Brunt told ESPNcricinfo. “We have a very balanced bowling attack that covers a lot of bases, so there is no pressure on me to bowl in the tournament.
“But from a personal point of view, I would like to be available to bowl a little later. There are two practice games before the first match, which is three games in five days, so it would be foolish of me to try to do everything at once. So far everything has gone according to plan and all the sessions I have done have been pain-free.”
Sciver-Brunt’s readiness will be a relief for England, both on and off the field. On Wednesday, she joined Lauren Bell and Sophia Dunkley to promote the 17.6m by 44.6m display at London’s Piccadilly Lights. This performance made her the first England cricketer, male or female, to appear on London’s Piccadilly Lights. it feels different Campaign by ECB and Metro Bank, which aims to encourage girls to play cricket.
But the fact that his team, in his absence, was able to win a 2-1 T20I series against defending champions New Zealand and major contenders India without him was also encouraging.
This is not least because the practicalities of increasing Sciver-Brunt’s bowling workload in the tournament are, by his own admission, “not easy to predict” and a “day-by-day” prospect.
Bell has carried out the seam-bowling very effectively in his absence, particularly taking wickets in the powerplay, which became a focus after last year’s 50-over World Cup.
“When I came back from the World Cup in India, I focused on my game and highlighted the powerplay,” Bell told ESPNcricinfo. “As a fielder, I am in the team taking powerplay wickets, I probably wasn’t working on that.
“And so I had a period between coming back from the World Cup and going to the WPL, maybe two or three months of training, and you don’t get that often. So I had a big training block of working on powerplay stuff. I’ve worked really hard and I think I have more clarity on what I’m trying to do.”
Bell was England’s only specialist seamer for the last two matches against India, Issie Wong played only the first of two matches against New Zealand and Lauren Filer did not play any T20Is.
The successful returns of all-rounders Danny Gibson and Freya Kemp after back injuries help strengthen England’s seam options, even if only for a few overs between them. Sciver-Brunt was impressed with the path she took to get back in time for the World Cup, while also being grateful that her injury was not more serious.
“The resiliency he has shown at such a young age is really special and inspiring,” Sciver-Brunt said. “There are going to be some headaches in selecting that XI, but having been without explosive all-rounders in the England team for quite a long time, it’s a great place to be.”
“When it happened, in my mind – I’d never had a shin injury before – but I thought, ‘Oh, I have a bit of a pain in my shin,’ I was trying to play it down, I guess, but the goalpost is never to miss a World Cup,” she said.
“From that standpoint, I was confident that I would always be a part of it. Obviously, things can change very quickly, but I trust my body so far that I will be ready.”
Meanwhile, England’s batsmen have stepped up, primarily Ellis Capsey, who scored a half-century as a stand-in opener against New Zealand and also staked his claim to the starting line-up as the match-winning No. 4 in the last match with India. In that match, she made a century partnership with Heather Knight, whose timely unbeaten 70 broke the average score.
Opener Danny Wyatt-Hodge is still settling in after a period of parental leave, while fellow opener Sophia Dunkley is looking for a big score. England’s other top-order option, Amy Jones, scored a half-century at No. 3 against India in the first game.
Sciver-Brunt watched from the sidelines as his team hit form at the right time under the admirable leadership of stand-in captain Charlie Dean.
“The first few games I was a little jealous,” Sciver-Brunt said. “It’s disappointing that I was on the sidelines, but seeing everyone from a different perspective and adopting things that I wouldn’t be able to do while being on the pitch with everyone has been really cool.”
Sciver-Brunt has had plenty of time to think about what lifting the World Cup trophy would mean in the final at Lord’s on July 5 for a team that has underperformed on the big stage in recent times.
“What will it mean? All the hard work and everything we have done in preparation has been worth it, we are a confident and successful team,” he said.
“We show some traces of what we can become, but in a tournament [we] Never step out of line in a close game. We have our moments, but I think this will confirm that we are a fantastic cricket team.
“It would mean a lot. I don’t know if I can put it into words. I’ve allowed myself to feel like I can lift the trophy, but once the tournament starts, it will be business as usual.”
Valkyrie Baynes is general editor, women’s cricket, at ESPNcricinfo