Rishi Sunak and the Conservatives have stressed that national service can come in all shapes and sizes. Could this perhaps include rating races for your country? If so, then Nat Sciver-Brunt has certainly already completed yours, and more.
In Chelmsford against Pakistan on Wednesday, the 31-year-old crossed the 3,500 ODI milestone as the fastest Englishwoman: she took 94 innings. Soon after, she raised her ninth ODI Hundred in the most daring way with consecutive ramps, as England closed their ODI series against Pakistan with a 178-run victory – her most convincing performance of the series.
“It’s a great conclusion,” Sciver-Brunt said. “I thought a lot about my sleeves while I was there and tried to be really present. Sometimes I didn’t feel very fluid, but I wanted to try to put as much pressure on the bowlers as possible.”
As if that wasn’t enough, Sciver-Brunt also played her first Overs of the summer and although she was limited to an allowance of five due to her rehabilitation from a knee health issue, she made it count and finished with two for 11.
It was left to Sophie Ecclestone to complete Pakistan’s innings, her three wickets in four balls taking her to 100 career ODI outings in 63 innings, breaking Australian legend Cathryn Fitzpatrick’s record.
England coach Jon Lewis said: “I can’t remember a day when I saw Sophie bowling. To have someone so consistent when they go on the pitch – she’s an incredible Talent.”
The 2-0 win in the series means England have moved into second place in the ICC Women’s Championship, one point ahead of South Africa and four points behind Australia.
Pakistan had their moments, reducing England to 70 at one stage for three after Heather Knight completed another unconvincing cameo from 12 off 17 balls, and LBW fell to Umm-e-Hani in the 27th over.
Tammy Beaumont had already had to walk in embarrassed silence after failing to execute the ramp strike against Fatima Sana, while Danni Wyatt punctured six points half a century ago, hitting a catch in the depths.
As was the theme of the tour, Pakistan were unable to keep up the pressure or sustain it with a solid batting performance. First, a slip by his wicket-keeper, Najiha Alvi, cost him the chance to see off Sciver-Brunt on 86 after Nashra Sandhu had it past the edge of his bat. Then they let England score 47 runs from the last three Overs of their innings when Sciver-Brunt suddenly got things up to 11, with six back-to-back hitting the ground. Alice Capsey flipped through her partner’s book and, from her new position at number seven, hammered an unsmacken 39 from 42 balls.
Finally, Pakistan fell on themselves in a race to get off the pitch and back on the plane to go home. By the end of the powerplay, they were already three behind – Sadaf Shamas hacked at his own stumps, Sidra Amin was held well under cover by a diving Maia Bouchier and Ayesha Zafar hit an easy catch on Midwicket. Unusually, Ecclestone’s services were not needed until the 22nd.