Natalie Ruth Sciver-Brunt (; ; born 20 August 1992) is an English cricketer. She was the first cricketer for England to take a

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three wic ...

in a

Women's Twenty20 International Women's Twenty20 International (WT20I) is the shortest form of women's international cricket. A women's Twenty20 International is a 20 overs-per-side cricket match between two of the International Cricket Council (ICC) members. The first Twen ...

match. The " Natmeg" shot is named after Sciver, from when she has hit a cricket ball through her legs during a game. On 7 March 2021, Sciver captained the England team for the first time in international cricket, for the third WT20I match against New Zealand, after Heather Knight was ruled out of the fixture due to an injury. On 6 September 2022, Sciver was named as England's captain for their home WT20I series against

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

in the absence of Heather Knight. However two days later, Sciver announced that she decided to withdraw from the series "to focus on her mental health and well being".

Early life and education

Sciver was born in Tokyo, Japan. Her mother, Julia Longbottom, a British diplomat, was based in

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

at the time of Sciver's birth, and has been the Ambassador of the United Kingdom to Japan since March 2021. Sciver's father, Richard, is a business executive. As a child, Sciver also lived in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

, where she played in women's league

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ca ...

, and the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Neth ...

, where she played

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

. Sciver attended

Epsom College Epsom College is a co-educational independent school on Epsom Downs, Surrey, England, for pupils aged 11 to 18. It was founded in 1853 as a boys' school to provide support for poor members of the medical profession such as pensioners and orpha ...

, Surrey, England, where, between 2007 and 2011, she played cricket alongside her future England teammate and fellow Test centurion

Alice Davidson-Richards Alice Natica Davidson-Richards (born 29 May 1994) is an English cricketer who plays for Kent, South East Stars and Northern Superchargers. A right-handed batter and right-arm pace bowler, she made her county debut for Kent in 2010. She made he ...

. She then studied sports and exercise science at

Loughborough University Loughborough University (abbreviated as ''Lough'' or ''Lboro'' for post-nominals) is a public research university in the market town of Loughborough, Leicestershire, England. It has been a university since 1966, but it dates back to 1909, when L ...

Career

She began playing cricket as a teenager, and played for Surrey club side Stoke d'Abernon. She also played cricket at school, playing in the

school 1st XI for two seasons. After a period in Surrey's Academy she played for the Surrey county team and progressed to the England Women's Academy. After some successful games in the academy team, she was selected for the 2013 limited-overs series against Pakistan where she made her debut for the full England side. In a WT20I game against New Zealand, she became the first England cricketer to take an international T20

. She is the holder of one of the first tranche of 18 ECB central contracts for women players, which were announced in April 2014. 2020 ICC W T20 WC E v SA 02-23 Sciver (05)

2020 ICC W T20 WC E v SA 02-23 Sciver (05)

In April 2015, she was named as one of the England women's Academy squad tour to

Dubai Dubai (, ; ar, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 emirates of the United Arab Emirates.The Government and Politics o ...

, where England women played their Australian counterparts in two 50-over games and two Twenty20 matches. She, along with Heather Knight, set the highest 3rd wicket stand in the history of the

Women's Cricket World Cup The ICC Women's Cricket World Cup is the sport's oldest world championship, with the first tournament held in England in 1973. Matches are played as One Day Internationals (ODIs) over 50 overs per team, while there is also another champio ...

(213) during the 2017 edition. In the same World Cup, Sciver along with

Tammy Beaumont Tamsin Tilley Beaumont (born 11 March 1991) is an English cricketer who currently plays for Kent, The Blaze, Welsh Fire, Sydney Thunder and England. She plays primarily as an opening batter and occasional wicket-keeper. She has previously pl ...

set the highest record partnership for the 4th wicket (170) in Women's World Cup history. Sciver was a member of the winning team at the 2017 World Cup held in England.England v India: Women's World Cup final – live!
''The Guardian'', 23 July 2017. In 2018 she was named one of the five

Wisden Cricketers of the Year The ''Wisden'' Cricketers of the Year are cricketers selected for the honour by the annual publication ''Wisden Cricketers' Almanack'', based primarily on their "influence on the previous English season". The award began in 1889 with the naming ...

for her part in the World Cup victory the previous summer. In October 2018, she was named in England's squad for the

2018 ICC Women's World Twenty20 The 2018 ICC Women's World Twenty20 was the sixth edition of the ICC Women's World Twenty20, hosted in the West Indies from 9 to 24 November 2018. It the second World Twenty20 hosted by the West Indies (after the 2010 edition), and the West Ind ...

tournament in the

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greater ...

. Following the conclusion of the tournament, she was named as the standout player in the team by the

International Cricket Council The International Cricket Council (ICC) is the world governing body of cricket. Headquartered in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, its members are 108 national associations, with 12 Full Members and 96 Associate Members. Founded in 1909 as the ' ...

(ICC). In February 2019, she was awarded a full central contract by the

England and Wales Cricket Board The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) is the national governing body of cricket in England and Wales. It was formed on 1 January 1997 as a single governing body to combine the roles formerly fulfilled by the Test and County Cricket Board, ...

(ECB) for 2019. In March 2019, during the third

(WT20I) match against Sri Lanka, Sciver scored her 1,000th run in WT20I cricket. In June 2019, the ECB named her in England's squad for their opening match against Australia to contest the

Women's Ashes The Women's Ashes is the perpetual trophy in women's international cricket series between England and Australia. The name derives from the historic precedent of the Ashes in male cricket and, until 2013, was similarly decided exclusively on th ...

. In January 2020, she was named in England's squad for the

2020 ICC Women's T20 World Cup The 2020 ICC Women's T20 World Cup was the seventh ICC Women's T20 World Cup tournament. It was held in Australia between 21 February and 8 March 2020. The final took place at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on International Women's Day. Hosts Au ...

in Australia. On 18 June 2020, Sciver was named in a squad of 24 players to begin training ahead of international women's fixtures starting in England following the COVID-19 pandemic. In June 2021, Sciver was named in England's

Test Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to: * Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities Arts and entertainment * ''Test'' (2013 film), an American film * ''Test'' (2014 film), ...

and WODI squad as the

vice-captain Vice-captain, alternate captain (ice hockey) or vice-skip ( curling) may refer to a role in a number of sports immediately below the role of captain. The vice-captain may have a number of different roles, including substituting as captain when the r ...

for their home series against India. In the second match of the WODI series, she took the wicket of

Shikha Pandey Squadron Leader (retired) Shikha Subas Pandey (born 12 May 1989) is an Indian cricketer and former officer in the Indian Air Force (IAF). She plays for the national cricket team as a right-arm medium pacer and middle-order batter, and was an IA ...

and claimed her 50th wicket in WODIs. In December 2021, Sciver was named in England's squad for their tour to Australia to contest the

. In February 2022, she was named in England's team for the

2022 Women's Cricket World Cup The 2022 ICC Women's Cricket World Cup was the twelfth edition of the Women's Cricket World Cup, which was held in New Zealand in March and April 2022. It was originally scheduled for 6 February to 7 March 2021 but was postponed by one year due ...

in New Zealand. In April 2022, she was bought by the

Trent Rockets Trent Rockets are a franchise 100-ball cricket side based in the city of Nottingham. The team represents the historic counties of Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire and Leicestershire in the newly founded The Hundred competition, which took place fo ...

for the 2022 season of The Hundred. In July 2022, she was named as the vice-captain of England's team for the cricket tournament at the

2022 Commonwealth Games The 2022 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XXII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Birmingham 2022, was an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth of Nations that took place in Birmingham, England bet ...

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

, England. At the end of the 2022 season, Sciver was named the PCA Women's Player of the Year, for her two centuries during the 2022 World Cup, her maiden Test century against South Africa, and her performances during The Hundred.

One Day International centuries

Personal life

In October 2019, Sciver announced her engagement to fellow England cricketer Katherine Brunt. They were scheduled to get married in September 2020, but their wedding was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The pair married in May 2022.

References

External links