Sciver-Brunt: ‘Pressure is a privilege’ for England’s World Cup homecoming
Sciver-Brunt: ‘Pressure is a privilege’ for England’s World Cup homecoming
England captain Nat Sciver-Brunt says the team is ready to throw themselves into the pressurised environment of a home World Cup when they open the tournament against Sri Lanka at Edgbaston on Friday night.
Sciver-Brunt, who has pulled up well after making a half-century in Wednesday’s warm-up victory over India, says she’s as ready as she’ll ever be, as England seek to emulate the efforts of their football and rugby counterparts in recent global tournaments.
Pressure as a Privilege
“There’s extra pressure from everywhere,” Sciver-Brunt told reporters at Edgbaston on tournament eve. “Being the host nation, first home World Cup for me leading, the Lionesses and the Red Roses doing such a brilliant job in their tournaments, the state of women’s cricket, the list goes on in terms of where you could add up the pressure.
“I guess we’re sat here feeling that pressure as a privilege. We’re in a time in the world where women’s cricket is waiting for a platform in cricket to expand and explode. It just so happens that we’re the 15 people who have the opportunity to do that at this time.
“Inside our Team England bubble we’re trying to stay composed despite the pressure. There’ll be different times where it’s more difficult to not let the outside noise in, but I suppose we’re in a privileged position to be able to feel that. I’m really excited about what’s to come.”
Sri Lanka Captain Weighs In
Even Chamari Athapaththu – the Sri Lanka captain playing her 10th T20 World Cup and returning to England where she played her first in 2009 – could feel the heat on the home side.
“We are coming in with the underdog tag because we need to earn something,” Athapaththu said. “But I know England have a little bit of pressure because they are playing in their home conditions, and first game, and a lot of expectation.
“We don’t have that kind of pressure. So, we just need to play our fearless cricket. And if we can play our best cricket tomorrow, I know we can challenge and we can make history.”
England’s XI
Sciver-Brunt was playing her cards close when asked about England’s XI, given that a pair of T20I series against New Zealand and India in the lead-up to the tournament has given head coach Charlotte Edwards “good headaches”.
Sophia Dunkley didn’t bat in either of the warm-up games, against Australia and India, with Amy Jones opening instead alongside Danni Wyatt-Hodge. Jones also scored a half-century in the first T20I against India at Chelmsford, when she batted at No. 3 for the first time since 2020.
Alice Capsey, meanwhile, had success in the first T20I against New Zealand, opening with Dunkley when Wyatt Hodge was on maternity leave, and at No. 4 against India in a re-jigged order before Sciver-Brunt returned from a calf injury for the warm-ups.
Spin Attack
England did show their hand when announcing their squad for this home T20 World Cup, with the inclusion three of left-arm spinners in Sophie Ecclestone, Linsey Smith and uncapped 18-year-old Tilly Corteen-Coleman.
The likelihood of the trio playing together in the same match is slim. Previous England head coach Jon Lewis fielded four spinners – Ecclestone, Smith, offspinner Charlie Dean and legspinner Sarah Glenn – against New Zealand in 2024 at Southampton. But his successor, Edwards, has been understandably cool on the idea of picking all three left-arm spinners given the need to balance the side.
“I think it would be pretty tough to get all three of them in the XI,” Sciver-Brunt said. “We have a squad of 15 players, all of whom could be part of our XI. There’ll be some disappointed people because everybody so far in the summer has put their hand up with different performances at different times.
“We know that we’ll need to call upon every one of those 15 people during this tournament, it’s not just about the XI. I suppose it makes for some tough conversations.
“You might think, ‘why have they got three of the same type of spinner?’ but everybody gives a different look. There’s a huge height difference between Sophie and Linsey, Tilly has that young exuberance and skill and talent. It’s an asset for us to have all three of them on our side.”
For all their shuffling of the deck through the summer so far, it all comes down to this for England. The way the cards fall in the first game could very well set the tone for their tournament.
