WPL 2024: Nat Sciver-Brunt’s Navigating the Impact of WPL Auction on International Commitments
WPL 2024: Nat Sciver-Brunt, England and Mumbai Indians allrounder, shares insights on balancing club commitments with national team duties amidst the clash between the WPL and England’s international fixtures.
Nat Sciver-Brunthad to control her emotions after taking home a staggering £320,000 at the first-ever WPL auction. Being “sold” was not only an odd idea, but she also had a T20 World Cup match to play that day with other England teammates who had lost out in the auction and therefore missed out on a potentially life-altering financial opportunity.
One major drawback emerged once the 2024 fixtures were finalized, around one month before the competition gets underway on February 23. Just two days after the WPL final, where their great all-rounder, Sciver-Brunt, was hoped to be winning back-to-back championships with Mumbai Indians, England was already scheduled to travel to New Zealand for two white-ball series that began on March 19.
She was not going to get on a plane, fly for nearly a whole day, and then show up on the field for the first game.
She had to make a decision, and money undoubtedly had some influence on it.
“Yeah, I mean, I would be lying if I said no,” Sciver-Brunt remarked in an interview with the Powerplay podcast on ESPNcricinfo. It was undoubtedly taken into consideration, especially after going for so much in the first year.
“Hopefully, this club vs. nation debate won’t come up again. I am aware that this has happened in the past and will continue to happen with the men’s side of things. I hope that similar conflicts don’t arise again because that will, I suppose, maintain the significance of international cricket and everyone’s attention.”
England Women’s head coach Jon Lewis was in a similar situation. Although assistant Ashley Noffke will take charge if UP Warriorz advance to the knockout stages, he will remain with the team until March 11 and believes that the issue can be avoided in the future when national boards provide a window for the WPL. However, that didn’t make things any simpler this time.
The players were given the opportunity to make their own decisions after being informed of their substitutes by England Women’s Cricket director Jonathan Finch. The fast bowler Lauren Bell and England captain Heather Knight have withdrawn from their franchise agreements. Sciver-Brunt, Sophie Ecclestone, Danni Wyatt, and Alice Capsey will replace Hollie Armitage and Linsey Smith in the England team for the fourth Twenty20 international on March 27. Kate Cross is scheduled to come for the next ODI series
“It is such a hard one, because it’s almost like it’s a bit of an anomaly, like it’ll – well hopefully – will not happen again,” Sciver-Brunt stated. “Obviously, T20 is essential to our team as the World Cup approaches, but I’m hoping that my choice will allow some players to feel a little more confident in themselves over the first three games and show Lewy and Heather what they can do.
“I believe it will only benefit our squad, whether players have ultimately chosen to travel to New Zealand rather than the WPL, or if players who performed well in India are able to participate in some pressure matches, which will further improve their performance. Indeed, it was a difficult option, and I suppose people have made their own decisions. Hopefully, we won’t have to make that decision in the future.”
Sciver-Brunt disclosed that she spoke with Wyatt, who overcame severe disappointment at not getting selected at the 2023 auction with a deal with UP Warriorz this year, and Issy Wong, her Mumbai teammate who was passed over for England’s tour.
“Ultimately people made their own decisions, which they should be allowed to,” said Sciver-Brunt. “It would be an interesting one, obviously when we get to the latter stages of the tournament, if my team’s in there, how it’ll feel when England are playing and I’m not there.”
Scheduling squeezes are becoming more common in the expanding women’s franchise industry. The auction is another concept that female athletes need to adjust to.
According to Sciver-Brunt, “the language of being sold at auction is still a little confusing.” “Undoubtedly a novel experience compared to previous men’s IPL editions that we had witnessed. However, participating in it was rather insane, intense at times, and an odd day because it fell during the World Cup.
I saw a portion of the auction this year, so I have a notion of how it would have proceeded the previous year. I’m eager to return to India and begin the competition since I feel much more at ease and certain about what will transpire.” Sciver-Brunt is making his third trip to India in the last 12 months with this WPL. During his tour with England in the latter part of last year, the visitors won their T20I series 2-1 before losing the Test by a margin of 347 runs.
Following their 2-1 T20I series loss to Sri Lanka in September of last year, England’s batting against spin was found wanting at home, especially without Sciver-Brunt. Consequently, a small number of players have been going to India for training camps. She believes that playing in subcontinental environments will help her side in the T20 World Cup in Bangladesh this year and the 2025 World Cup in India.
As a senior player in the England team, Sciver-Brunt has played in 223 internationals across three formats in the last ten years. She has embraced leadership in her role as national vice-captain and intends to help Mumbai team members and captain Harmanpreet Kaur both on and off the field. She collected ten wickets and finished as the second-highest run scorer in the competition last year with 332 runs, only 13 behind leader Meg Lanning.
“Being a senior player in the England side, I sort of had a bit of experience of that… making sure I have my own responsibility to be passing on knowledge and be open with everyone so that whole group can improve,” she stated.
“But there’s also the obligation to use our performances to benefit the team when we’re on the field, or to speak up if I see something that might help.” In that sense, it doesn’t feel all that different from how I’ve been playing cricket for the past four or five years.
“Obviously, having a high price tag adds another level to it, but fortunately, I was playing quite well last year, so I didn’t have to worry too much about the performance aspect and could simply let things happen organically. We’ll see how it goes; I’ve had a solid training block this time.”
