England’s players have found themselves answering attitude questions following a 2-1 ODI series loss to India that ended with a 13-run defeat at Chester-le-Street on Tuesday evening.
India’s 318 for 5, anchored by Harmanpreet Kaur’s measured hundred, always looked imposing. England slipped to 8 for 2, steadied through a 162-run stand between Nat Sciver-Brunt and Emma Lamb, and were finally bowled out for 305 with one ball unused. Apart from Sophie Ecclestone’s tidy 1 for 28, every England bowler leaked more than sixty runs from ten overs; missed stops in the ring did not help.
The result triggered an unusually blunt assessment from former England quick Katherine Sciver-Brunt, working on BBC Test Match Special. “It’s hard for me to understand some people sometimes, and their attitudes, because to me it looks lazy and like they don’t care,” she said. “Are they actually feeling like that? Or do you actually care a lot and that is your way of showing it? I struggled a lot with that.”
Katherine, never shy of an opinion during her own playing days, added: “It came across to me as bad attitude and no discipline. That is definitely not what I’m seeing from everyone but at times there are examples.”
For her, the worrying signs are most obvious when England are under the pump. “When the pressure gets to them they go external and what comes out is not good cricket,” she said. “They are being crippled inside and suddenly they are not switched on or they suddenly don’t want the ball because they are scared to fail.”
The 39-year-old sees a shift in on-field personalities since her retirement in 2023. “A lot of versions like me have left the team, and a lot of different versions have come into the team. Nat is captain now and she’s the polar opposite to me, she’s very quiet, inside and patient. She is everything I am not. You know how I feel but you wouldn’t know how Nat is feeling.
“I wouldn’t say that nobody in this team wants it, they all want it and to do their best. There is a lot of timid people and not many front-footed people who are willing to do anything.
“I don’t think everyone is doing everything they possibly can. And the key to that question is why? I don’t think there is anything malicious in that, it is a mental thing. We just need to be stronger internally and be more outwards with our fight.”
Nat Sciver-Brunt, who battled to 98 from 105 deliveries and very nearly made the chase possible, fronted the press afterwards and was inevitably asked about her wife’s remarks. “I’ve actually been put in that situation before when I was a lot younger – ‘she’s so relaxed, she doesn’t look like she’s that interested’ – but on the inside that’s not what’s true,” she said.
“I guess from the outside people might look in certain ways, but you never know what’s going on inside. I know everyone on that pitch is committed to doing the best they can for England.”
Head coach Charlotte Edwards must now decide whether tweaks are needed before September’s multi-format Ashes. Fielding drills are already pencilled in for this week; bowling plans could change too, given India’s freedom against anything short or full.
In truth England were not far away: 319 would have been a women’s ODI record chase, and they came within fourteen runs. Yet the series defeat, coupled with Katherine’s commentary, ensures close scrutiny will continue through the summer.
For now, Nat Sciver-Brunt insists her side’s desire is intact; the challenge is turning that desire into cleaner execution under pressure.
