ENGLAND captain Nat Sciver-Brunt hoped Sunday’s World Cup final defeat to Australia at Lord’s will not mark her final appearance at a World Cup, even as she reflected on an emotional end to England’s campaign.
Australia claimed their seventh Women’s T20 World Cup title, outclassing an England side that had shown significant improvement under Sciver-Brunt but ultimately fell well short in the decider.
The occasion carried extra significance for the England captain. Accompanied by her son Theo during the pre-match anthems, Sciver-Brunt returned to the venue where, as a 24-year-old, she had played a starring role in England’s triumph at the 2017 ODI World Cup final, the last time England lifted a major global trophy.
Sunday’s defeat inevitably prompted questions about whether she would feature at another World Cup.
“I don’t want it to be my last World Cup,” she said. “I’m living day by day at the moment. Family is everything. The support we get from our families, our team, our supporters, it all just means so much, that’s why the emotions are high.”
Sciver-Brunt entered the tournament carrying a calf injury and was forced to balance her leadership responsibilities with being England’s premier batter. Despite missing most of the build-up to this showpiece tournament at home, she returned to score half-centuries in both the semifinal and final.
“Trying to nurse an injury during a World Cup hasn’t been fun,” she said. “I’ve always wanted to try and remain positive around the group and not let on too much how I’m feeling. Missing those games were pretty tough. I just tried to do everything I could do to not be too disruptive coming back.
“I surprised myself a bit coming into back in that semi-final and being able to redo what I did. I’m really proud of what I was able to do.”
Her 58 in the final, however, came off 53 deliveries and was a talking point after Australia chased down England’s total with relative ease.
Sciver-Brunt conceded she would have liked to score quicker but dismissed any suggestion that retiring out had crossed her mind – a tactic India employed earlier in the tournament with Jemimah Rodrigues.
Head coach Charlotte Edwards, meanwhile, praised the strides England have made over the past 15 months post a disastrous Ashes series but hinted that changes could be on the horizon as the side looks to bridge the gap to Australia.
Veterans Heather Knight and Danni Wyatt-Hodge, both 35, were among England’s standout performers during the tournament, but Edwards indicated the squad composition would come under review at the end of the summer. While Sciver-Brunt maintained the gulf between the two finalists was narrower than the result suggested, England’s management appears open to refreshing the squad ahead of the next cycle.
“There’s a lot of younger players in this team now that are staking a claim,” Edwards said. “We need to have a look at the team. We obviously stuck with a lot of our older players for this tournament and they’ve rewarded us well. That’s something for the end of the summer to have a look at and see where we are as a side.” (Cricbuzz)
