Paarl (South Africa), Feb 12 (IANS) All-rounder and England vice-captain Nat Sciver-Brunt praised her team’s breezy win over West Indies in the 2023 Women’s T20 World Cup and urged them to keep on being aggressive in further matches of the tournament.
Nat’s brisk 40 from 30 balls helped her side reach their target of 136 at 9.51 runs per over, the highest run-rate in a successful chase of more than 100 in Women’s T20 World Cup history.
“We want to be aggressive and take the game on and walk towards the danger. We’re living that mantra as a team at the minute, the more we can do that under pressure, the better,” she said in the post-match press conference.
Asked about the impact of new head coach Jon Lewis on the England team, Nat said, “Since Lewis has come on, he’s really brought that freedom and allowed us to fail for the success to happen. And the way that he wants us to play, he believes fully that can be successful at a T20 World Cup and all the players are brought into that. So, we’re excited.”
Nat shared a match-winning fourth-wicket stand of 67 with skipper Heather Knight, who also hailed her team’s aggressive approach. “We want to entertain and we’ve set up the order to do that. We’ve got the power and the smarts in the middle order to adapt if we need to.”
“Our goal is to be positive and score runs, basically. It’s great that we can keep that mindset in the first game of a tournament when there are nerves around and we put out a real statement.”
Heather, 32, is leading a squad infused with young promise. 22-year-old opening bowler Lauren Bell emerged wicketless but threatened with the new ball and Alice Capsey, 18, showed signs of her precocious talent with the bat.
“Those youngsters bring a real fearlessness and positivity, they go out and play their shots and do their thing. It’s really important to have experience, to know how to deal with big occasions and ultimately win games. It’s a really nice mix and there’s a good vibe around the group. The youngsters certainly keep me feeling young, that’s for sure.”
–IANS
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