The England women are ‘guzzled’ as New Zealand teases them for cricket bronze at the Commonwealth Games… with Katherine Brunt, the record whiteball wicket taker left in tears as she admits her international career may be over
England were defeated by New Zealand in the bronze medal match at the Games
NZ Women won by eight wickets (with 49 balls remaining) at Edgbaston
England’s Katherine Brunt was visibly upset after the disappointing defeat
Doubts remain about England’s future with white ball wicket-takers in the sport
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Try telling Katherine Brunt that these Commonwealth Games don’t matter.
England’s record white-ball wicket-taker has won everything in her long career, including both T20 and 50-over World Cups. But her tears at missing her shot of a multisport medal told their own story.
For Birmingham, Brunt had said a gold medal in the first women’s tournament of the Games would be a ‘nice end’ to her career. Instead, if the bowler does bow, it will be after a painful fourth-place finish – hardly a fitting end for one of England’s best female players.
England record white-ball wicket-taker Katherine Brunt was upset after defeat to New Zealand
NZ Women won by eight wickets (with 49 balls left) to claim the bronze medal
The 37-year-old will take time to reflect on this weekend’s disappointment – when she lost to India in Saturday’s semi-final and New Zealand’s bronze medal match on Sunday – before making a final decision about her future.
Still, Brunt knows England lost a golden opportunity to make history in front of a home crowd in Edgbaston – and emotion poured out as she explained what it all meant.
“This is really hard,” Brunt said. “The feeling has faded. We play international cricket for England so this shouldn’t feel any different, but it did feel different. It felt like the whole country was behind us.
“We are sorry we let them down. On a personal level, it’s my only chance at a medal, so I’m obviously taking it very badly.
Brunt admitted her international career may be over after Edgbaston defeat
“Everything is sharpened when you come to the end of your career. Is this my last game in England? I don’t know. I have to reflect and see where I stand and what my next goal is.’
Brunt had hoped to contest last night’s gold medal after England passed through their group. Still, they lost to India by four runs in Saturday’s semi-final. And they were unable to take on the White Ferns, who got the 111 runs they needed in just 11.5 overs – just one more ball than England needed to beat them in Thursday’s round-robin. .
While this was ultimately not a successful tournament for the hosts, it was for the women’s competition as a whole, with new fans flocking to Edgbaston.
“It was an incredible experience,” said English stand-in skipper Nat Sciver. “Having that new audience is very special and something that women’s cricket can only help. I’d like to see cricket at the Olympics.’