Issy Wong has declared herself fully fit for England’s T20 World Cup campaign, allaying any concerns over her recent injury scare.
Having fought off stiff competition to win a place in Charlotte Edwards’ squad for next month’s home tournament, Wong was set to feature in last week’s ODI opener against New Zealand only to pull out with a tight hamstring.
She was sent for scans and follow-ups, eventually sitting out all three matches, but the Warwickshire seamer has got the green light to return and is cleared for the first of three T20s against the White Ferns on Wednesday.
“Two scans sounds a lot worse than it was but there was nothing on the second one, so I’m good to go,” she told the Press Association.
“Just because you’re having a scan it doesn’t mean your leg’s hanging off, a lot of the time it’s about getting a good idea of what’s going on so they can manage us through it. I felt something in the top of my hamstring and I was quite keen to play on but the physios decided to take it easy.
“We made the right decision because it ended up being something very minor, but if I’d played on to try and get through that ODI it might have been different.”
Wong has not featured for her country since last July and her eagerness to make the most of the opportunity almost saw her brush aside concerns and taking the field in Durham. But, having missed the cut for the last three major tournaments, she was eventually persuaded to take a more cautious route.
“I wasn’t that worried, I was 50:50 about whether I’d even talk to them about it or whether I should just keep my head down and not mention it,” she said.
“But I thought, I’ve done the hard work and got got myself picked for a World Cup… I should probably tell them. It got a bit cold in Durham and as I was sat there it didn’t feel that good but the medical guys were really good and sorted all my scans.
“I feel like I’ve worked really hard and I was buzzing to get the call for this World Cup, so it was in the back of my mind: don’t risk it. It’s a massive summer and everyone is so excited.”
England have also been managing injury issues with captain Nat Sciver-Brunt (calf) and Sophie Ecclestone (quad), but have no lingering concerns over the pair.
