England captain Nat Sciver-Brunt says she is hopeful the “honesty” and “pride” she has attempted to instil in her team will enable them to excel at the World Cup.
Sciver-Brunt will captain England for the first time in tournament cricket when her side take on South Africa in the 50-over format in Guwahati on Friday, live on Sky Sports.
The all-rounder was named skipper in April by head coach Charlotte Edwards, who had weeks earlier been appointed after the previous captain-coach combination of Heather Knight and Jon Lewis were dismissed following a humiliating 16-0 Ashes defeat in Australia.
Sciver-Brunt told Sky Sports News: “We’ve made a few changes, both Charlotte and I, in terms of how the team has gone about things off the pitch and on the pitch.
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“I think that the biggest change off the pitch has been about the honesty in our reviews and just taking personal responsibility, but also being really open to feedback, and being open to learning from every experience that we’ve had.”
England are seeking an improvement on that display and on their previous tournament outing, which saw them fail to reach the last four at the T20 World Cup last October.
Asked what she wants to bring to the side with her captaincy, Sciver-Brunt replied: “I think a bit of pride.
“Everyone’s put a lot of hard work into their preparations for this tournament so, having a bit of pride about it but also having that that calming confidence. That’s what I’ve tried to instil in everybody on the pitch and being able to put out their best performance basically.
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“I’m just there to help facilitate their confidence and just trying to bring the best out of them.
“Through the years that I’ve been playing we’ve had ebbs and flows with our team performance but sticking together is a very important thing out here in a World Cup where we know it’s going to be really tough.”
Sciver-Brunt ready to bowl
In her first matches as captain – against West Indies and India – during the English summer, Sciver-Brunt opted not to bowl as she managed an Achilles issue.
However, as things stand, she is confident of returning to all-round duties in India.
“It’s gone really well in terms of my preparation for this tournament, in terms of getting my work clothes out for bowling,” Sciver-Brunt said. “So yeah, I’ll be playing a role with the ball.”
Her transition from batter to all-rounder could also prove significant in terms of the balance of England’s team, which she admitted there will still some decisions to be made on.
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She said: “That was the point of getting over quite early to Abu Dhabi and making sure that we had chance to look at some different combinations.
“Picking the balance of the side in terms of how many batters we have was probably the biggest question, but with me bowling that sort of makes it a bit of an easier decision.
“Then you look at the makeup of which bowlers we go with, and there’s been some great competition between us in terms of performances, which is all you can ask for really as a captain or as a coach, that people are putting their hands up and making it difficult for us to make decisions.
“It’s become a bit clearer in the last week or so. We’re really excited about the group that we’ve got.”
Watch the Women’s Cricket World Cup live on Sky Sports Cricket in full, up to and including the final on Sunday November 2. England face South Africa in their opening game on Friday (10.30am first ball in Guwahati). Stream contract-free with NOW.
