An emotional England captain, Nat Sciver-Brunt, admitted she has yet to decide on her international future after England’s crushing defeat to Australia in the 2026 ICC Women’s T20 World Cup final at Lord’s but made it clear she does not want the tournament to be her last on the global stage.
Australia ended England’s hopes of ending their long wait for a major ICC title with a dominant seven-wicket victory to lift a record-extending seventh Women’s T20 World Cup crown.
The occasion carried extra emotional significance for Sciver-Brunt, who walked out for the national anthem alongside her son, Theo, before leading England in the showpiece.
“I probably won’t play in a home World Cup again, so having the opportunity to bring Theo out was really special. And I’m going to cry… I can’t really tell you how special it is,” Sciver-Brunt told reporters after the match.
“I haven’t thought about that. I don’t want it to be my last World Cup. I don’t even know when the next one is. I’m living day by day at the moment.
“I haven’t put any thought into that at all. Family is everything, and the support we get from our families, our team and our supporters means so much. I guess that’s why the emotions are so high.”
Sciver-Brunt endured a physically demanding campaign after a recurring calf injury disrupted both her preparations and the early stages of the tournament. She missed several warm-up and World Cup matches before making an impressive return with half-centuries in both the semifinal and the final.
“It’s been up and down, to be honest. The first few games, especially the opener in Birmingham, were really special. But trying to manage an injury during a World Cup hasn’t been easy,” she said.
“I wanted to stay positive around the group and not let on too much about how I was feeling. Missing those games was tough, but I tried to do everything I could to make my comeback as smooth as possible.
“I probably surprised myself a little by coming back in the semifinal and performing the way I did. I’m immensely proud of what I was able to achieve. It’s obviously not how I imagined my World Cup going, but I’m proud of how I responded.”
The England skipper’s 53-ball 58 in the final came under scrutiny after Australia comfortably chased down England’s total. Asked whether she had considered retiring herself out—a tactic used by India’s Jemimah Rodrigues earlier in the tournament—Sciver-Brunt rejected the suggestion.
“I would have liked my strike rate to be much higher, especially after hitting my first ball for four,” she admitted. “That wasn’t my intention. I wanted to bat through the innings but also play with more freedom and find the boundary more often. Instead, I ended up picking out fielders off full tosses and short balls.
“So I’m sitting here feeling like I could have done a lot better.
“When I went off earlier in the tournament, it was because of my calf, not because I was retiring out. In my mind, it wasn’t that easy for a new batter to come in and immediately start hitting boundaries.
“I was confident I could accelerate towards the end, and having Alice Capsey or Freya Kemp playing positively at the other end helped create a really good partnership.”