Latest news with #NatSciverBrunt
BBC News
3 days ago
- Health
- BBC News
New mum Sciver-Brunt was set to miss Windies series
England's Nat Sciver-Brunt was set to miss the ongoing West Indies series on maternity leave before being made captain, says her wife 32, was named captain in April, a month after her son, Theo, who was carried by former England bowler Katherine, was born. "Nat was entitled to four months maternity leave, not being the birth mother," Katherine Sciver-Brunt told BBC Test Match Special."She took three weeks of that because England wanted her back for this series. "That was a huge sacrifice because those first eight weeks are so hard. "No-one would usually go back after three weeks, and Nat was pre-arranged to not play in this tournament and come back for the India series [which starts on 28 June]." Theo was with Sciver-Brunt during the T20 series which concluded on Monday and the first one-day international on Friday in Derby, where Katherine was working as a commentator for the matches were England's first under the all-rounder and new coach Charlotte Edwards, who were appointed after Heather Knight and Jon Lewis were sacked amid the fallout from last winter's Ashes defeat. Katherine travelled alongside England while pregnant throughout the winter but remained at home during the Women's Premier League in February and she gone into labour while Nat was at the tournament in India, her wife would not have made it home in time for the is the first mum to play for England since Arran Brindle, who played her last international in 2014."There were talks of a stand-in captain coming in for this series and that was a hard question for England," Katherine Sciver-Brunt said."But ultimately Lottie [Edwards] wanted Nat and I couldn't deny her that opportunity towards the back end of her career. "If I was unhappy or wasn't sure, Nat would not have done it. She is selfless in that way and that is why she makes such a good captain."Sciver-Brunt's comments come after the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) announced an update to its maternity policy on England players were guaranteed their full salary for the first 13 weeks post-childbirth and a percentage thereafter but they will now receive 12 months fully paid leave, plus an automatic contract extension and support with childcare and breastfeeding players will get six months paid maternity leave plus the contract had egg freezing treatment last summer and said she would like to carry a baby after her cricket career."When you talk about giving birth, it takes more than a year to get your body back into fitness and revert back to what you were," Katherine said."You have worked so hard as a female to get to that point in your career and then you have to question stepping back and having to juggle starting a family. "Even deciding to extract and freeze your eggs, there is time that has to be taken out for that."If you are an exceptional athlete you often have a long career ahead of you, but not if you want to start a family. "Normalising this conversation and to inspiring people that it can be done, there needs to be more of that and I think it will happen."
BBC News
3 days ago
- General
- BBC News
'Relief' and 'pride' as Jones takes her chance
Amy Jones had waited a while for her first international century - 12 years, 225 matches and 190 innings, to be exact. Against a struggling West Indies at Derby, in England's first one-day international under the new leadership regime of Nat Sciver-Brunt and Charlotte Edwards, the wicketkeeper finally made it out of the 90s. Edwards' first tactical move in the 50-over format was to promote Jones back up the order after Maia Bouchier's omission from the side, and she repaid the faith immediately. Jones had opened for England 23 times previously between 2016 and 2019, but said the simplicity of Edwards' approach helped take the pressure off upon her return to the top."She said, 'you've scored big runs at county level opening and you did pretty well opening before so have a good go at it'. For it to be an option was really exciting for me," Jones told BBC Test Match Special. "It feels really special [to make the century]. It feels like it has been a long time, especially with a bit of an opportunity to bat at the top of the order at the start of my career, so it just feels like a lot of relief and a huge amount of pride." The Ashes drubbing which started the year was one to forget for all of England's players, but Jones suffered a particularly painful experience in the second ODI at Melbourne which really kickstarted England's with chasing 181 to level the series, Jones was left unbeaten on 47 having failed to marshal the tail and miscounting the balls left in an over. Since that series, Edwards had made her intentions clear regarding England's "smartness" in 50-over cricket so it is fitting that Jones has immediately answered the had made it past 90 three times in an England shirt before, making 94 against India in 2018, 91 v West Indies in 2019 and an unbeaten 92 against New Zealand in 2024 - and the nerves did seem to be kicking in when she was dropped on 92 and 93 in this opposition will certainly come - in fact, rather soon, with India's arrival next month, but the smile on Jones' face as she embraced fellow centurion Tammy Beaumont in celebration indicated the sheer weight lifted from her shoulders. "There would have been a few people scratching their heads on why she would be opening the batting," said former England seamer Katherine Sciver-Brunt on BBC Test Match Special. "I never thought she lost that spot, so I am massively pleased. She didn't say to whoever was in charge, 'I want that spot back', she just took that she would be four, five or six. "The last two years she has done that well. I am over the moon for her that she has got the first hundred out of the way under some pressure. "I am mega happy for her but the ones that will stand out are the ones that really matter against the best teams in the world."
The Guardian
3 days ago
- General
- The Guardian
England's Smith takes five after Jones and Beaumont tons in ODI canter past West Indies
In Charlotte Edwards's first press conference as England head coach back in April, she was pretty clear about her priorities: 'I think we've got to look at our ODI game. I think that's probably an area that we've underperformed in for a while.' Perhaps nobody epitomised that more than Amy Jones, who in 12 years of international cricket – including 97 ODIs – had never scored a century. On Friday at Derby, with Edwards grinning away on the dressing-room balcony, Jones punched through the off-side for the boundary which finally broke that duck. They say the years are short, while the days are long: the five overs which Jones spent in the nervous 90s felt almost as long as the 12 years which preceded them. First, the umpires called for drinks; then Jones offered up two nervy return catches to Jahzara Claxton and Karishma Ramharack, which were both shelled; and finally her opening partner Tammy Beaumont got impatient and decided to beat Jones to the milestone, having played second fiddle for almost the whole of their record-breaking partnership. When the vital boundary from Jones finally came, the celebrations were partly just relief to have got a very big monkey off a very senior back. Jones's and Beaumont's centuries, combined with a second half-century in three matches from the captain, Nat Sciver-Brunt, at a healthy strike rate of 144, provided the platform for England's formidable total of 345 for six: their eighth-highest in history. In reply, West Indies came out with intent, led by another chaotic innings from Qiana Joseph, who pulled off the same trick as in last October's World Cup, scoring 62 from 74 balls simply by swinging and hoping. But Capsey eventually bust one into Joseph's stumps, and with Hayley Matthews already long departed – a decent maiden ODI wicket for Em Arlott – Sciver-Brunt belatedly, in the 23rd over, introduced her second debutant, Linsey Smith. The left-arm spinner – who made her 20-over debut in 2018 but had astonishingly never previously featured in this format – proceeded to turn the ball just enough on a good length to bamboozle the tourists' middle order. Finally, Sophia Dunkley pouched two good catches in the deep – the second off the final ball of Smith's 10-over allocation – to ensure her teammate (just) achieved her five-fer. From there it was slow death for West Indies, who clung on until the 49th over but were eventually all out for 237, handing England a 108-run win. In the light of Thursday's news that Heather Knight is out for the rest of the summer with the hamstring injury she sustained at Chelmsford, this was a good time for the remainder of England's senior batters to stand up and be counted. Edwards could hardly have asked for more: Jones and Beaumont put on 222 runs for the first wicket, vindicating the coach's decision to promote the England wicketkeeper to the top of the order for the first time since 2019. In her first two months as head coach, Edwards has kept a close eye on county cricket, which may explain England's new-look opening partnership: Beaumont and Jones have scored 237 runs together for The Blaze in seven One-Day Cup matches this season. While the pair started sedately at Derby, there was a dramatic acceleration in the 26th over: Beaumont came down the track to Matthews, fired the first six of the day over long-on, and proceeded to add another 50 runs in just 22 balls. Sign up to The Spin Subscribe to our cricket newsletter for our writers' thoughts on the biggest stories and a review of the week's action after newsletter promotion The highlight was a 25-run over against Claxton, during which the diminutive Beaumont leapt into the air as if she had launched herself off a trampoline and somehow reached a ball a metre above her head, uppercutting it to the boundary. Spare a thought for Emma Lamb, who after a two-year absence from international cricket and a 36-over wait to assume her new position at No 3, was adjudged caught behind to Matthews after just three balls. Oddly, she opted not to review the decision, despite replays suggesting the ball had come off her forearm. She will be hoping for a chance at vindication when the two sides go again, at Leicester on Wednesday.
The Guardian
3 days ago
- General
- The Guardian
England v West Indies: first women's cricket one-day international
Update: Date: 2025-05-30T11:28:17.000Z Title: Preamble Content: Hello and welcome to the OBO of the first ODI between England and West Indies from Derby. Charlotte Edwards and Nat Sciver-Brunt will be quietly content with how the early days of their reign as England Head Coach and Captain have gone with a 3-0 clean sweep of West Indies in the T20Is. There are grey clouds though, and not just the ones rolling in over the Peak District and looming over the county ground at Derby as we speak. Former captain Heather Knight is out for the entire summer with a hamstring injury that she sustained in the final T20I in Chelmsford on Monday, a real shame for her personally and England's batting card is weakened without her class and experience in it. That last match also saw England slip into old and bad habits from the winter of discontent just gone as a series of catches were fluffed. Edwards has promised higher standards across the board and so all eyes on England's fielding today, as well as their batting and bowling of course – which has been pretty good. The match starts at 1pm and the toss and teams are imminent. If you want to join in and offer thoughts, theories, pearls of wisdom or just to let me know your favourite condiment then hit the email link on the left.
BBC News
3 days ago
- General
- BBC News
Knight injury a real loss for Somerset
Somerset Women coach Trevor Griffin has admitted being without batter Heather Knight will be a "real loss" for his side after it was confirmed she will miss the Vitality Blast campaign through 34, injured her hamstring during England's T20 win over West Indies on has been ruled out of international action for the rest of the summer and will also miss The hopes the former England captain will support the team during her recovery, but says she will be missed, having joined up with the squad last November."You just look at the way she has been playing, somebody of Heather's stature is a real loss to any team," he told BBC Points West. "She'll be well-supported by the medical staff with England and here at Somerset."No doubt with my knowledge of Heather she'll be around and she'll be great, sharing her experience but [it's] a massive loss for England cricket. We will support her through her rehab, lets follow the process and see where she is at."Somerset all-rounder Alex Grifiths said it was disappointing to lose Knight, but they needed to adapt."We all wish her a speedy recovery," said Griffiths. "It is gutting; she looks very content and has been scoring so many runs. She's been flying but that is the nature of the sport."Knight led England for nine years before she was removed from her position in March after the 16-0 Ashes humiliation at the beginning of the year. She was replaced by all-rounder Nat Sciver-Brunt, 32, a month later.
