England skipper Nat Sciver-Brunt highlighted the importance of the presence of former captain Heather Knight in the side ahead of their Women`s World Cup 2025 opener against South Africa. This is going to be Sciver-Brunt`s first ICC tournament as skipper, and she understands the importance of the input Knight can have for her.
Heather Knight has won as many as 62 ODIs out of the 94 she has captained England in, including the sensational 2017 Women`s World Cup triumph. With such a plethora of experience in her repertoire, Nat Sciver-Brunt claimed that she will be leaning on Knight for some valuable advice as a captain and also on her experience as a valuable batter.
Here`s what Nat Sciver-Brunt was quoted as saying by ICC:
“I think it would be stupid of me not to listen to her. She is a hugely valuable person on our side, whether it is with the bat or just that tactical thinking. She has got a brilliant brain for cricket. So, yeah, I am encouraging her to be as vocal as she wants to be, really. And, yeah, any little bits that we can help the team move forward and hopefully win a game or two, we`ll be doing that.”
Nat Sciver-Brunt observed the match between India and Sri Lanka in Guwahati and believes that it is easier to score in the powerplay. She feels her spin attack led by Sophie Ecclestone, is pretty strong to stop the opposition in their tracks. On this, she stated:
“It looked like in the Powerplay, it was pretty easy to score. Then we got a little bit more difficult through the middle, especially when the spinners came on. So typically, I suppose that is a blueprint that we work with, especially when we are bowling, making sure the spinners in the middle are doing a really good job for us and making it really hard for people to get away.”
England Squad: Nat Sciver-Brunt (c), 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
South Africa Squad: Laura Wolvaardt (c), Anneke Bosch, Tazmin Brits, Nadine de Klerk, Annerie Dercksen, Sinalo Jafta, Marizanne Kapp, Ayabonga Khaka, Masabata Klaas, Sune Luus, Karabo Meso, Nonkululeko Mlaba, Tumi Sekhukhune, Nondumiso Shangase, Chloe Tryon.
(With ANI inputs)