LONDON: England wicket-keeper Sarah Taylor will miss the Women’s World Twenty20 in the West Indies in November as she continues to manage her anxiety condition, the England and Wales Cricket Board announced on Friday.

The 29-year-old took nearly a year out of the game but returned to become a key member of the England team that won the 2017 50-over Women’s World Cup.

The ECB said a ‘mutual decision’ had been made by Taylor and the England management for her to miss the tournament in the Carib­bean, which starts on Nov 9.

“Since the end of the summer Sarah hasn’t been able to train fully with the squad due to not being as fit as she would want to be from a psychological point of view,” said England women’s coach Mark Robinson.

“At the moment she isn’t in a place where we would all be comfortable that the demanding training, playing and travel schedule wouldn’t potentially put her backwards and make her road to full recovery longer,” he added. “It’s important we see mental health in a similar way to a player with a physical injury. You wouldn’t risk a player if you felt that playing them with an injury would increase the chances of them being out for a long time or the issue even becoming career-threatening.”

Robinson said he hoped Taylor would be fit to play cricket again in the new year.

“All of our players’ health and well-being is the most important thing and we must never lose sight of that in the intense and demanding world of professional sport.”

England won the inaugural Women’s World Twenty20 in 2009 and were beaten finalists in both 2012 and 2014.

The 2018 edition of the tournament will be the first time the women’s Twenty20 is a standalone event and not linked to a men’s competition.

Published in Dawn, September 30th, 2018