England's captain, Nat Sciver-Brunt, said she hoped this would not be her last World Cup, after England lost the T20 final by seven wickets at Lord's on Sunday. The 32-year-old broke down in tears as she reflected on the match, which saw Australia dominate with a half-century from Beth Mooney.
Emotional Aftermath
“I don’t want it to be my last World Cup,” Sciver-Brunt said. “I’m living day by day at the moment. Family is everything. The support we get from our families, our team, our supporters, it all just means so much – that’s why the emotions are high.”
Sciver-Brunt has battled a calf injury throughout the tournament and carried a heavy burden, juggling captaincy with being England's best batter, striking half-centuries in the semi-final and final. “Trying to nurse an injury during a World Cup hasn’t been fun,” she said. “I’ve always wanted to try and remain positive around the group and not let on too much how I’m feeling. Missing those games were pretty tough. I just tried to do everything I could do to not be too disruptive coming back.”
Team Progress and Future
England's head coach, Charlotte Edwards, said she was “really proud” of the progress her side has made over the past 15 months, but added that she would be reviewing the squad personnel at the end of the summer. Heather Knight and Danni Wyatt-Hodge, both 35, were two of the best-performing batters in the tournament, but there is a feeling that England may need to bring in fresh blood to close the gap with Australia.
“There’s a lot of younger players in this team now that are staking a claim,” Edwards said. “We need to have a look at the team. We obviously stuck with a lot of our older players for this tournament and they’ve rewarded us well. That’s something for the end of the summer to have a look at and see where we are as a side.”
Australia's Triumph
Sophie Molineux, who won her first World Cup as captain after succeeding Alyssa Healy in January this year, expressed her satisfaction at defying expectations. “It’s been the most amazing day,” she said. “When I took over I was a bit messy at the start. Captaining a couple of games and then getting injured – shock. There were a few doubts internally. But what I’ve learned over my journey so far is you have to keep believing.”
The tournament is thought to have broken all records for attendance at a T20 World Cup, with a sellout crowd at Lord's for the final. Edwards said: “It’s another extremely important day for women’s cricket in this country. To play a part in that is something I’ll remember for the rest of my life.”
