ENG W vs IND W | Tammy Beaumont to stand in for injured skipper Nat Sciver-Brunt in third T20I

‌England Women suffered a blow in their bid to bounce back from two straight defeats against India as captain Nat Sciver-Brunt was ruled out of the third game with a groin injury. Batter Tammy Beaumont, who played her first T20I for England in more than nine months when she figured in the first game against India, will stand in as skipper at The Oval on Friday.

"It's real pride and honour to have the captain's armband tomorrow, albeit in difficult circumstances," Beaumont said. "Charlotte [Edwards, head coach] asked to meet me this morning, and straightaway I said, 'Yep, thank you very much, I'll give it a good go'. I guess we need a bit of fight to come out in this series, and I'm probably someone who likes to get in a battle, so I can understand why."

England, however, find themselves in a difficult situation as they trail the five-match T20I series 2-0 after India registered comprehensive wins in the last two games. It will be a do-or-die match for England in London on Friday as Beaumont takes temporary charge.

"The worst thing we could do right now is panic," Beaumont said. "Obviously, it's not the circumstances we wanted to be in. We didn't want to be 2-0 down, and we didn't want our captain and best batter to be out of the team. Full credit to India, they've challenged us and pushed us so far, but I hope that we can respond, and I'm certainly intending on getting the girls to try and respond to what's happened so far."

Sciver-Brunt missed the majority of the action on the field during the second T20I after injuring her groin, with Sophia Dunkley, the official vice-captain, taking charge of the side. The severity of her injury will however, be assessed by further scans, but it is likely that she will miss the remaining two games of the series.

"That's something we don't know just yet, our medical team are doing all they can," Beaumont said. "She's got a scan today, so we'll know more, but I think it's in the balance for Manchester. But, whether it's one game or a couple, I'm just hoping to put my hand up for the team and do the best I can, and will welcome Nat back with open arms whenever she's fit."

The last two T20Is will be played in Manchester and Birmingham on July 9 and 12, respectively.