Nat Sciver-Brunt has said she will empower her players to be the “best version of themselves” after being appointed as the new captain of the England women’s team. As first reported last week, the 32-year-old all-rounder has stepped up to fill the vacancy left by Heather Knight’s departure in March, the first appointment by the new head coach, Charlotte Edwards.
Sciver-Brunt, who is on parental leave after her wife, the former England seamer Katherine Sciver-Brunt, gave birth, said: “I’m really proud to take on the role and it’s an honour to have been asked by Charlotte, someone I’ve always looked up to.
“I will try my best to lead this team to success, whilst empowering them to be the best version of themselves. We have a really talented group, and we have a group that’s united. It’s a team I believe in and a team that can have a lot of success together.”
A mainstay of the side since her debut in 2013, Sciver-Brunt was always the leading – perhaps only – candidate to step up after England’s disastrous Ashes tour last winter, both as vice-captain to Knight these past three years and arguably one of the few England players who would make a current world XI.
A World Cup winner in 2017, Sciver-Brunt has risen to become the fulcrum of England’s batting, with two Test centuries and nine in ODIs (while claiming 181 wickets from 259 games in all formats). She is the No 3 batter in the ODI rankings, having reached No 1 in 2023.
The right-hander has also forged a strong working relationship with Edwards over the first three seasons of the Women’s Premier League in India; a central player during two championship wins and leading scorer in the tournament’s short history. The pair were teammates at the back end of Edwards’s England career.Clare Connor, managing director of England women, said: “We are delighted to have appointed Nat and I know she’s excited about the honour of leading the team during an unprecedented chapter in international women’s cricket. “Everyone knows what a fantastic cricketer Nat is, but her qualities extend far beyond her skills on the pitch. She’s thoughtful, resilient and driven by getting the best out of herself and everyone around her. Nat is immensely well-respected in the group and I know she will form an exciting and fruitful partnership with Charlotte.”
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Having deputised for Knight on 12 occasions, Sciver-Brunt’s first series as permanent captain is the visit of West Indies for three Twenty20 internationals and three ODIs. The first T20 takes place in Canterbury on 21 May. India are the second tourists this summer – five T20 internationals and three ODIs in June and July – before thoughts turn to the World Cup that starts in late September.