Guwahati (Assam) [India], October 3 : Ahead of her side's ICC Women's World Cup campaign opener against South Africa, England skipper Nat Sciver Brunt, leading the team in an ICC tournament for the first time, spoke about drawing on the experience of her predecessor, Heather Knight, saying it would "stupid of me to not listen to her" and called the batter a "highly valuable part of the side.
The two-time champions, having last won the tournament in 2017, would be aiming for a winning start against the Proteas in Guwahati on Friday.
During the 2022 edition of the tournament under Knight, England reached the finals, losing to arch-rivals Australia by 71 runs at Christchurch, despite Brunt's 148 during a tough run chase of 357 set by the Aussies in the title clash.
Speaking ahead of the match, Brunt said, as quoted by ICC, about Knight, "I think it would be stupid of me not to listen to her. She is a hugely valuable person on our side, whether it is with the bat or just that tactical thinking. She has got a brilliant brain for cricket. So, yeah, I am encouraging her to be as vocal as she wants to be, really. And, yeah, any little bits that we can help the team move forward and hopefully win a game or two, we'll be doing that."
Having captained England in 94 ODIs from 2016 to 2025, Knight scored 62 victories for his side, lost 29 and three matches ended in a no result. Her win percentage is 65.95, and the WC title win in 2017 makes her one of England's greatest leaders in women's ODI cricket.
Speaking about the behaviour of the wicket during the tournament opener between India and Sri Lanka at the same venue, Sciver-Brunt described the surface as "quite good" and on which scoring runs in the powerplay was "fairly easy". Knowing how hard it is to score in the middle overs at the venue, she banks on her spinners, led by Sophie Ecclestone, to make things tough for the opponents.
"I thought the wicket looked quite good (in the tournament opener)," Sciver-Brunt said.
"It looked like in the Powerplay, it was pretty easy to score. Then we got a little bit more difficult through the middle, especially when the spinners came on. So typically, I suppose that is a blueprint that we work with, especially when we are bowling, making sure the spinners in the middle are doing a really good job for us and making it really hard for people to get away."
"I think that has been a really good strength of ours for a number of years. We have got a brilliant spin attack. I suppose we have got a brilliant set of players who have lots of different skills to be able to do a job in whatever role they are given. It's been difficult to select our XI. We are really excited," she added.
Sciver's versatility after returning to full fitness will be crucial in deciding how far England goes, and she hinted that her contributions would not be limited to just batting in this tournament.
"Me being able to play a part as an all-rounder has a bit of a change to the balance of the side that we can select," she continued.
"So, we would like to select seven batters to go into this tournament," she added.
England are feeling acclimatised to the sub-continental conditions, having completed pre-World Cup camp in Abu Dhabi.
"(The camp) was really valuable," she continued.
"We got some great time out in the middle in really hot, humid conditions, where in England it's not like that. So, I think preparing physically in that way was really good. I think just honing in on all of the skills that you would need for different conditions, and then, as a side, making sure that we are communicating really well so that everyone can adapt to that. I think that is going to be a massive part of our tournament, making sure that we are adapting as quickly as we can to what's put out in front of us," she added.
England Squad: Nat Sciver-Brunt (c), Em Arlott, Tammy Beaumont, Lauren Bell, Alice Capsey, Charlie Dean, Sophia Dunkley, Sophie Ecclestone, Lauren Filer, Sarah Glenn, Amy Jones, Heather Knight, Emma Lamb, Linsey Smith, Danni Wyatt-Hodge
South Africa Squad: Laura Wolvaardt (c), Anneke Bosch, Tazmin Brits, Nadine de Klerk, Annerie Dercksen, Sinalo Jafta, Marizanne Kapp, Ayabonga Khaka, Masabata Klaas, Sune Luus, Karabo Meso, Nonkululeko Mlaba, Tumi Sekhukhune, Nondumiso Shangase, Chloe Tryon.
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