Girls’s Cricket World Cup: England being ‘outsiders’ for event will ‘spur us on’ says captain Nat Sciver-Brunt

England captain Nat Sciver-Brunt is snug together with her facet going into the
Girls’s World Cup as “outsiders” as they appear to rebuild their popularity as trophy contenders.

Sciver-Brunt is one in all solely 4 survivors from the workforce that grew to become world champions at Lord’s in 2017 and has witnessed a sequence of event disappointments in recent times.

Since ending as overwhelmed finalists of their 2022 title defence, they’ve struggled to make their mark on the worldwide stage, exiting the T20 World Cup within the semi-finals and group stage on the final two editions.

However with Sciver-Brunt and head coach Charlotte Edwards nonetheless within the first six months on the helm, there was a reset of kinds.

Heat-up wins over reigning champions Australia and co-hosts India has not seen England leapfrog the pair within the bookmakers’ reckoning however Sciver-Brunt is joyful to fly beneath the radar.

“We were never going to be going in as favourites, that’s India and Australia, but not having that label will hopefully free us up,” she mentioned.

“The expectation of being outsiders will spur us on, I assume, however internally we’ve sure expectations to place one thing out that we’re pleased with and compete in opposition to the easiest groups.

“In terms of the last few world tournaments we’ve been disappointed not to get the results we wanted because we set standards as an England side. But having a new coach and new captain, hopefully that is a fresh start in terms of not dwelling on previous tournaments.

“We’ll be joyful if we get our greatest cricket on the market, as a result of if we do this as a workforce we are able to compete with anybody on the market.”

England start their marketing campaign in opposition to South Africa in Guwahati on Friday, an vital likelihood to set the best tone however not a make-or-break curtain-raiser given the round-robin construction.

Heather Knight, Tammy Beaumont and Danni Wyatt-Hodge all lifted the trophy alongside Sciver-Brunt eight years in the past and can keep in mind that they started their highway to glory with defeat to India of their opener.

“It does seem like quite a long time ago but I guess that’s where our experience will come in really handy,” Sciver-Brunt mentioned.

“We lost our first game in 2017 and came full circle to beat the same team in the final. We can share that knowledge with the group. In these tournaments it’s not about how you start, it’s how you finish and if you peak at the right time.”

England

Finest outcome: Winners (1973, 1993, 2009, 2017)
2022 outcome: Runners-up (misplaced to Australia within the last)

England squad: Nat Sciver-Brunt (captain), Em Arlott, Tammy Beaumont, Lauren Bell, Alice Capsey, Charlie Dean, Sophia Dunkley, Sophie Ecclestone, Lauren Filer, Sarah Glenn, Amy Jones, Heather Knight, Emma Lamb, Linsey Smith, Danni Wyatt-Hodge.

Nothing lower than reaching the semi-finals would be the expectation for Edwards’ facet, even when it stays unclear what the most effective stability will likely be in subcontinental situations.

England head to India and Sri Lanka with a quartet of spinners somewhat than a stronger stability of seamers, a choice which noticed Kate Cross omitted from the 15.

That maybe means captain Sciver-Brunt will play a bigger function with the ball, along with her management and batting. Her return to bowling competitively ought to permit for extra spin choices to play.

With that in thoughts, gradual left-armer Linsey Smith may show an important choice supporting No 1-ranked ODI bowler Sophie Ecclestone and one in all both off-spinner Charlie Dean or leg-spinner Sarah Glenn.

Watch each match from the Girls’s World Cup dwell on Sky Sports activities from Tuesday September 30 with England’s opening match vs South Africa on Friday October 3.