Nat Sciver-Brunt is hoping to inspire a fresh generation of future England stars as she prepares to lead the nation into the Women’s T20 World Cup on home soil.
Captain Sciver-Brunt was part of the side who lifted the 50-over World Cup at Lord’s in 2017, but this time around will head into battle alongside 21-year-olds Freya Kemp and Alice Capsey, who witnessed that team’s achievement from afar as youngsters.
Speaking as the skippers of the 12 competing nations took part in an event on London’s Waterloo Bridge, which was transformed into a cricket pitch for the day on Sunday, she voiced her hopes of establishing a new legacy.
Sciver-Brunt said: “Hopefully the young girls are watching out and maybe they’ll be part of the next World Cup. You never know when it’s going to happen.
“We managed to get a few people from 2017 and now they’re playing in the team, so I think that’s such a cool full-circle moment. It’s an, ‘I was there’ moment, so don’t miss out on that.”
The competition, which gets under way on Friday evening when hosts England open their Group 2 campaign against Sri Lanka at Edgbaston, will be staged at venues in London, Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds, Bristol and Southampton.
Six-time winners Australia will once again be among the favourites to lift the title won by New Zealand in Dubai two years ago, with South Africa their opening Group 1 opponents at Old Trafford on Saturday afternoon.
Captain Sophie Molineux believes to fact that organisers were able to close a major London thoroughfare for the launch event is an indication of the growing stature of the women’s game.
Molineux said: “It just shows where the game has come from and where it’s going. I think this tournament is going to be a massive inroad into getting the women’s game right up there in terms of eyeballs and eyes watching, so hopefully this really sets the tone for what’s going to be a really exciting few weeks.”
