England Hit by Injury and Illness Ahead of ODI Opener Against New Zealand

England’s preparations for their ODI series against New Zealand women's national cricket team have suffered another setback, with young fast bowler Mahika Gaur ruled out through injury and allrounder Alice Capsey unavailable for the opening match due to illness.

The three-match series, beginning in Durham, marks England’s first international assignment in more than six months and serves as an important part of their preparations for the upcoming home T20 World Cup in June.

England were already without regular captain Nat Sciver-Brunt, who was ruled out after suffering a calf tear while playing domestic cricket last week. Vice-captain Charlie Dean will lead the side in her absence, while batter Maia Bouchier has been added to the squad as cover.

Further complications emerged after 20-year-old left-arm seamer Gaur fractured her left foot during a training fielding session with England coaches earlier this week. The injury means she will miss the entire ODI series, adding to a frustrating run of interruptions in her promising international career.

Gaur previously missed England’s 2024 home white-ball series against Pakistan while completing her A-Levels and was later sidelined from the T20 series against New Zealand because of a side strain. The same injury also forced her withdrawal from The Hundred after an impressive debut season in 2023.

Her performances in that competition earned her a maiden England call-up after representing the United Arab Emirates women's national cricket team in 19 T20 Internationals. Gaur made her England debut in T20Is against Sri Lanka in 2023 before delivering a player-of-the-match display with figures of 3 for 26 on her ODI debut against the same opposition.

The young pacer last featured for England in a T20I against Ireland in September 2024. She also travelled to Australia as an observer during England’s difficult Ashes tour in 2025 before joining the England A tour shortly afterwards.

Meanwhile, Capsey is continuing her recovery from a recent illness and has been ruled out of Sunday’s series opener. However, the England camp expects her to return later in the series.

In response, England have called up Charis Pavely as batting cover for the first ODI. The Warwickshire batter has enjoyed an outstanding start to the Metro Bank One-Day Cup season, scoring two centuries and two half-centuries in her first six matches.

Pavely has accumulated 400 runs at an average of 100.00 and a strike rate of 113.96, making her the competition’s second-highest run-scorer, just four runs behind fellow England squad member Jodi Grewcock.