Nat Sciver-Brunt was hailed as “unbelievable” after her record-breaking century propelled England to an 89-run over Sri Lanka.
The England captain became the first batter to record a fifth hundred in ICC Women’s World Cup history as she fired a magnificent 117 off as many deliveries. Sciver-Brunt also took two wickets as Sri Lanka were bowled out for 164 and England secured their third consecutive win.
Commenting on her match-winning innings, Tammy Beaumont, who scored 32 off 29 balls, said of Sciver-Brunt: “She is just unbelievable. She doesn’t seem to feel pressure when she is batting.
“She started off aggressively when the ball was skidding on, and then stayed composed and shuffled that lower order. It shows how good she is, and how lucky we are to have her in the team.”
Sciver-Brunt was dropped while she was on three by Udeshika Prabodhani and that came back to haunt the Sri Lanka side.
She brought up her 10th ODI hundred – becoming just the fifth woman to do so – off 110 balls and celebrated by cradling her bat in tribute to her young son, Theo, who was watching on from the stands.
Sciver-Brint hit seven boundaries in all – including a hat-trick of consecutive fours in the final over – as well as two sixes to put England in the driving seat before Sophie Ecclestone starred with the ball, ending with figures of four for 17.
“She is brilliant, isn’t she?” said Sciver-Brunt of Ecclestone.
“To be able to hand the ball to her and not go for many runs and pick up four wickets is pretty special.
“But from the moment she came into the team when she was 16, we knew we had something special on our hands.
“She has really grown in the past couple of months and we have challenged her to improve and to make a mark on the team and for herself and I am really pleased for her.”
England play Pakistan next on Wednesday before additional group tests to follow against India, Australia and New Zealand.
