There are less than 100 days to go until the Women’s T20 World Cup, and England, the hosts, have been stuck in limbo. Next week’s training camp in Abu Dhabi was hastily cancelled over the weekend when Iran began bombing the UAE after US-Israel strikes. The ECB has been searching for alternative venues – not ideal for a team who have not been in the same room, let alone played together, for five months.
On Friday the ECB confirmed a new plan to head to South Africa, for intra-squad games in Pretoria to sharpen their skills and lay claim to spots in the line-up.
It is an unusual approach. England were the only major nation not to play in a bilateral series over the winter, and the squad have been scattered all over the world since reaching the semi-finals of the ODI World Cup in India last October.
Some joined ECB skills camps in Oman and South Africa, which offered a break from chillier days bowling in tents at the National Cricket Performance Centre in Loughborough. Meanwhile 15 English players, including most of the ECB’s centrally contracted stars, played in Australia’s Big Bash League, and a handful went on to play in the more lucrative Women’s Premier League in India.
The long time apart may be no bad thing for England, giving players a chance to repair after the intensity of a World Cup. But the lack of competitive action is also a symptom of modern cricket’s economics: international fixtures do not generate the income and interest of franchise leagues, where players can make double or treble the money of their central contract salary in just a few weeks.
The England captain, Nat Sciver-Brunt, racked up more than 300 runs playing for the Mumbai Indians. “We’ve had five months between international duties, which is pretty unusual,” she says, “but I think it will probably become a bit more common now with the windows for franchise cricket.”
Sciver-Brunt is speaking inside one of the changing rooms at Edgbaston on a drizzly March morning, having entered the room with a shiver after some on-pitch media duties. It has been nearly a year since she took on the captaincy and she seems comfortable in her new skin as the figurehead of the team, despite the expectations that come with the role – England have won all four Women’s World Cups staged at home (1973, 1993, 2009 and 2017).
“So, no pressure for me,” she laughs.
Are England ready to win another home World Cup? It was only a year ago that they were bageled by Australia in the Ashes, a defeat so damaging it brought down the hierarchy. Head coach Jon Lewis was sacked and Heather Watson lost the captaincy after nine years.
In came Charlotte Edwards and new skipper Sciver-Brunt. Edwards naturally commanded respect given her playing career and success coaching T20 franchise teams, and she set about raising standards in the field and in the gym. She also shifted the team’s culture by delivering some blunt post-match debriefs.
“I think the openness that we have as a group, and honesty in reviews, that was something I really saw a change in our team [over the past 12 months],” says Sciver-Brunt. “Hopefully we can take that a step further and be more comfortable being uncomfortable with each other.”
England have the raw ingredients: batting power in Sophia Dunkley and former captain Knight at the top of the order, the pace of Issy Wong, a world-class spinner in Sophie Ecclestone. There is perhaps an overreliance on Sciver-Brunt’s all-round skills, but this England side have a promising blend of battle-hardened experience and bright-eyed talent.
There have been green shoots since the Ashes, winning an ODI and T20 series against West Indies last summer before losing a competitive series with India. Then came that deep World Cup run, beating India in the league stage when an unburdened Knight scored a century, although ultimately England were well beaten in the semi-finals.
Sciver-Brunt is as experienced as almost any player in the world but is still learning the art of captaincy, and she took plenty from her first World Cup in charge – in particular, that long tournaments are a marathon, not a sprint. “You don’t have to be your best right at the start,” she says. “Obviously, you need to win a few games to get to the knockout stages, but you might not win every game by 10 wickets. You might scrape a few games by three or four wickets. But trying to be your best when it really matters is important.”
England have fixtures against New Zealand and India in May, but this period in Pretoria will be crucial before the county game swings into action next month.
England open the T20 World Cup against Sri Lanka here at Edgbaston on 12 June, before games against Ireland, Scotland, and New Zealand. The group should be easily navigable, but there is the sense that this might be the most competitive tournament yet. India are the ODI world champions, New Zealand are the defending T20 champions, England have home advantage and Australia are Australia. South Africa and the West Indies are improving, too.
Yet Sciver-Brunt knows this is a rare opportunity. It will likely be her only home World Cup, in any format, as England captain, and it offers the chance to write fresh history and leave a lasting mark on the game, just as England’s rugby and football teams did last year. Again – no pressure, then.
“As a fan, I was captured by what they [Lionesses and Red Roses] were doing. And yes, they both went on to win, and obviously that helps. But I think creating that chance to build a new fanbase is also a brilliant opportunity … What a chance we have to grow the game in England. And, as players, to experience that home crowd feeling and the energy that gives you. It’s going to be a really special time.”
One moment in England’s sporting history is even more inspiring to Sciver-Brunt. She was part of that extraordinary 2017 World Cup final which ended with Knight lifting the trophy, a game which undoubtedly fuelled the wave of talent now coming through England’s ranks. When they finally come together as a group this month, after time apart and uncertainty over recent days, Sciver-Brunt knows who she will be seeking out for advice in her quest to reach the final at Lord’s on 5 July.
“That was really early on in Heather’s captaincy career as well so I’ll certainly be drawing on her experience, what made that so special from a captain’s point of view, and how she dealt with all that. That will be one of my first coffees, whenever we get together.”
Get your tickets to see the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup here.
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