England captain Nat Sciver-Brunt is excited about the upcoming Women’s World Cup, set to be held in India and Sri Lanka, and feels it could have a huge impact on the future of women’s cricket.

“There’s nothing quite like playing cricket in India. It really is special. And it’s even more special when it’s a World Cup,” Sciver-Brunt, who will lead England at an ODI World Cup for the first time, told ICC.

“I’ve been lucky enough to play quite a lot of cricket in India but I think World Cup cricket – especially with the prospect of passionate home support for India – is truly next level.”

Sciver-Brunt added, “Whether we’re there or not, you do get the feeling this could be a seismic moment for the women’s game.

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“If you think about India getting over the line in a close game, with all the noise and drama and excitement that it could bring, I think you begin to get a sense of what this competition could do for women’s cricket in India.

“I’ve seen that growth in the WPL, but a World Cup is something else. I hope whatever outcome we see, we see that. I think we’ll all look back on our careers when we’re retired and mark the World Cup in India as a game-changer.”

India came close to winning its maiden title in 2017 when it went down by nine runs to England at Lord’s in the final. Sciver-Brunt was a part of that host team led by Heather Knight.

The 33-year-old all-rounder was also a member of the England team which finished runner-up at the previous edition in 2022.

With former captain Charlotte Edwards as the coach and a talented group of players, Sciver-Brunt is optimistic about England’s chance of lifting the trophy for the fifth time.

“I believe we’ve got a good mix of players who’ve been there and done it before and players for whom this is all very new and exciting,” she said.

“There’s a huge amount of talent in this group and we’ve got a coach who knows exactly what it takes to win a World Cup. The job now is to put that all together on the pitch, to win the big moments and to step up when the pressure’s on to take us as far as we can possibly go.”

England will begin its campaign against South Africa on October 3 in Guwahati.

Published on Sep 25, 2025