Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
SCIVER’S A GRAFTER
She clubs 137 in record England total of 377
NAT SCIVER got England’s World Cup campaign up and running with a destructive display of batting that Ben Stokes would have been proud of. The England No.4 plundered 137 from just 92 balls against Pakistan in the most entertaining fashion for a maiden ODI ton in a record-breaking win. After defeat by India in their opening game, England’s 377-7 was their highest ever World Cup total and down to the free-flowing bat of Sciver and the calm calculation of skipper Heather Knight who also collected a first one-day hundred. Their partnership of 213 set the platform for the giant score that Pakistan were never in danger of getting near. And by the time the rain forced an early finish, England had secured a 107run win via the Duckworthlewis-stern method. “I think it was the best innings I’ve seen Nat play,” said Knight, who made 106. “She hit the ball brilliantly from ball one, she’s one of the cleanest strikers in the world and one of the best all-rounders because she can bowl brilliantly, too. “We call her our Ben, the Ben Stokes of the team although she’s a little bit less aggressive. It was exciting to watch Nat hit the ball so well at the other end, it was brilliant.” It is worth remembering Sciver made her England debut in 2013 batting at No.8, but she has developed into a brilliant batting allrounder with all the shots. Born in Tokyo, Sciver has an elegance at the crease but generates terrific power and cleared the ropes for three successive sixes off the bowling of Asmavia Iqbal at the back end of her innings. She said: “That’s my best innings for England, a really special day for me. “I’ve been feeling good with the bat all season. I had a few good games for my county and I felt good during the warm-ups. “I’ve been working on striking the ball under my eyes, keeping my head down and maintaining a good position.” Next up for England is a trip to Taunton to take on Sri Lanka on Sunday.