Sciver shines despite being in the dark on England’s chances
Had England faltered against South Africa on Friday, it would have virtually guaranteed that they would have been flying home at the end of the group stage – not that everyone involved realised this fact when taking the field, including the player of the match. “Yeah, that was news to me after the game,” said Nat Sciver in the aftermath of her brilliant figures of three for four, which she agrees is the best she has bowled for England.
“It is a massive relief. A lot of the team didn’t know that we needed to win – I didn’t!”
After chasing down the paltry 86 they required for victory, England can rest easy in the knowledge that they will feature in the semi-finals in Antigua, going through from Pool A with West Indies, who they play today to complete the group stage.
The performance of England’s bowlers was dubbed as “close to perfect” by opener Anya Shrubsole, who claimed a hat-trick to finish off the Proteas.
For Sciver’s part, she is thrilled to have been given the chance to take a leading role with the ball. “It was brilliant to put in that kind of performance and to bowl the first over,” she said.
The equation is simple for England: if they beat the West Indies and top the pool they will play Australia next Thursday in the semi-final. If they lose, they will instead come up against India, who have passed through their group undefeated.
“We had a tri-series against both of them in India earlier this year so we have played each other quite a lot,” a relaxed Sciver said. “So we know what we are going to come up against.”