21 February - Cape Town - England player Nat Sciver-Brunt post-match press conference
[Reporter]
Now, was that the complete performance that England's been looking for at this tournament.
[Nat Sciver-Brunt]
I think so. Yeah, I mean I guess we put the pressure on them as much as we could with the bat and the ball and in the field to think that's yeah something that we've been looking to do over this tournament but not quite got it all right. So far, but yeah, I think that was pretty good. Yeah.
[Reporter]
And is it feeling like you're confident you can now repeat that in the knockouts.
[Nat Sciver-Brunt]
Yeah, I hope so. I mean you never know what the wicket is going to do when you turn up and yeah there's always a little period of adapting and seeing, I guess what's happening but yeah I think everyone's got the confidence that we can, I guess, repeat that and hopefully get one step further.
[Reporter]
And I guess you had other players stepping up so Danny back in the runs Catherine and Charlie back in the wickets I mean does that sort of say something about the depth and we know you've had it but the use of your depth as a team.
[Nat Sciver-Brunt]
Yeah, I think so. Obviously, people can't repeat every time I mean crickets a weird sport, things happen and yeah someone, could get a duck tomorrow that got runs today but yeah I guess that's why as a batting group and as a bowling group we're really strong and especially have the depth, like you said, and yeah, just on any day we're confident that someone will stand up.
[Reporter]
Congratulations to made a biggest highest score record in 2020 World Cup history for women. You are most favourite team of this event. What is the strategy of your semi-final match will be crucial match. What is your step.
[Nat Sciver-Brunt]
I guess much of the same that we've been doing so far, and whoever the opponents will be. And, yeah, we want to be able to put them under pressure, when we're batting and really focus on taking wickets as much as we can with the ball and I guess trying to be calm and I guess adaptable in that, a team can always come at us and. Yeah, I guess it's how we react to that, and yeah put the pressure back on them.
[Reporter]
Now you're currently the leading tournament run scorer and Heather Knights recently described you as the best player in the world. Do you agree?
[Nat Sciver-Brunt]
That is a difficult question. Yeah, I don't know. And I'm having a good time. So, yeah, it's always nice to be, I guess, so I'm described like that but yeah, I'm just really happy with the group that we've got together and really, I guess, enjoying playing cricket with this team.
[Reporter]
What's going right for you.
[Nat Sciver-Brunt]
Well, I guess it's coming out the middle of the pack. And today I think I hit more on the outside today than I have done previously which I was quite happy with. And, but yeah, I guess my techniques in a good place but it's probably more about the mindset and just continuing that as much as I can.
[Reporter]
Since a large part of the narrative around this World Cup has been the fact that Australia have set such a precedent in terms of their depth. The rest of the teams come across as that they are trying to play catch up. But today, England showed that they have as Valkyrie mentioned, something of their own kind of depth. But has England ever sort of tried taking a leaf out of how well Australia use their resources and how their players are able to come into the starting 11, even if they're on their bench and play match winning impactful roles.
[Nat Sciver-Brunt]
Yeah, I mean, we're always - to be the best in the world, you have to beat the current best in the world. And, yeah, they, Australia have been very consistently at the top of their game for a really long time. At the moment we're trying to focus on ourselves and not look too outwardly at other teams. You know, in the past, we've probably done that quite a lot and it's not really worked out for us. And so yeah, I guess, as a group, we are working towards wanting to be number one in the world. But the way we're doing it is the most important thing. And the way that everyone is really brought in and believes in the way that we're playing will win us games will win us tournaments, and I think that's the most important thing.
[Reporter]
And a standout facet in England's batting performance over the past couple of matches has been how you have been able to mount a counter attack, despite the early loss of wickets. Can you talk us through a bit how the team, the batting group goes about strategizing such situations where there could be a loss of wickets in a heap and yet you play a big role and some of the others around you like Amy Jones, can you tell us a bit about that strategy please?
[Nat Sciver-Brunt]
Yeah, I think, as a group, we've really agreed with everyone that the plan is to put the pressure back on the other team, whether that's a wicket, a dot, you know, whatever it is. And really, it's just been the switch of that mindset, not so from not, oh, I need to knock it around and get a partnership together. It's the how you're still taking it to the bowl, you're trying to put them under pressure and stick to your strengths basically. Like I've probably paddled earlier than I would have done in previous innings, gone to a reverse or whatever it is, but each batter has their go to shots that they know if it comes off it will, you know, give them a boundary but it's all about execution I guess and not really thinking about, oh, you know, if I get out here we're going to be in trouble because that negativity will just, I guess, play out a bit more.
[Reporter]
When a team puts in a performance as emphatic as that, pretty much perfect. How much of that is planning and how much is professionalism and just the team dynamic taking over?
[Nat Sciver-Brunt]
That's a hard one as well. We did, I guess, sort of target this game to, previously in the tournament I think we've been building up to a performance like this. We sort of targeted this game as a chance to show everyone as a team what we're about and yeah, I guess it being the last game in our group as well. I guess, yeah, a free chance to show off a bit and I guess do the things that we do really well as a group.
[Reporter]
We've obviously seen the men's team break records and today you broke two of their own. Is that something you sort of set out to do to sort of push the boundaries of what's been done before?
[Nat Sciver-Brunt]
Yeah definitely - it’s something that Louis has definitely asked us to, I guess, push. He is finding random records that we have beaten so, you know, not the standard ones. But, yeah, it's important, I guess, for us to be pushing ourselves and pushing our standards higher and higher. And yet, I guess, if we can do that consistently the world is ours really.
[Reporter]
And just looking back from when you started your career and how far women's cricket has gone, you know, a few years ago people weren't talking scores of 200 would be possible. So what do you think it feels now having sort of broken that?
[Nat Sciver-Brunt]
I guess, something we don't, I mean, some people do look at scores and, what's a pass score on the wicket or whatever it is. I don't really, I'm not very good at answering that question, so I don't really think about that right in batting. But the way that we've approached our batting and tried to continue on the momentum that Dunks, Danny, Alice, they've all been putting us in a brilliant position in the power play and in the middle order we've really tried to continue that rate. So, yeah, I guess that does mean we'll be pushing up the scores here.