Captain lauds spinner's game-changing spell at CWC25
England maintained their winning ways at the ICC Women's Cricket World Cup off the back of a captain's knock from Nat Sciver-Brunt and brutal spell from Sophie Ecclestone.
England produced a statement-making win in Colombo to return to top spot on the World Cup standings as the tournament's third round of matches were completed.
They are showing their top four credentials as their stars continue to shine brightly.
Against Sri Lanka, it was Nat Sciver-Brunt who did the bulk of the damage with the bat, blasting a run-a-ball 117 as England totalled 253/9 from their 50 overs before comfortably defending, off the back of impressive production from Sophie Ecclestone with the ball. The left arm spinner collected figures of 4/17 off 10 overs.
England power past Sri Lanka | Match Highlights | CWC25
A convincing win from England over Sri Lanka to go top of the table at the ICC Women's Cricket World Cup 2025.
"(Ecclestone's spell was) pretty special," Sciver-Brunt told media post game.
"(It) took a little bit longer (for her) to come on to bowl today. (They had) couple of left handers in - I thought I'd try and get Alice Capsey into the game a little bit earlier and yeah, she bided her time and it just made it look very easy.
"She came on at a time where Sri Lanka had built a partnership and, I suppose I wanted her to come on and steady the ship, not necessarily take wickets. But she obviously did that as a bonus. Just her clarity in what she wants to do is brilliant and that I think makes her a brilliant bowler and a huge asset obviously for our side.
"Her skill execution is brilliant and she got the rewards for what she put in."
Sciver-Brunt discusses fifth World Cup century | Post-match Press Conference | CWC25
England captain Nat Sciver-Brunt reveals the key to her fifth century at the ICC Women's Cricket World Cup against Sri Lanka in Colombo
Sciver-Brunt produced a record fifth World Cup ton, but it's the English skipper's selfless mentality that draws the best out of her when the stakes get higher.
"I guess wanting to do the best for my team (that brings out the best in big games)," she continued.
"I suppose experience as well. We've got a couple of experienced batters who like to bat in the middle-order with me and Heather (Knight). So, making sure that we're both doing the majority of that is really important. Yeah, I enjoy batting and I guess enjoy working out the puzzle of what's thrown at you as well.
"Our batting in these conditions is about adapting as quickly as possible and the wicket didn't play the same the whole way through the innings. So yeah, I guess we adapted well today and hopefully we can continue to do that on the surface here again for our next match."
England's next match is against Pakistan in Colombo on Wednesday.
Nat Sciver-Brunt's stunning century | Aramco POTM Highlights | CWC25
Watch Nat Sciver-Brunt's ton against Sri Lanka that won her the Aramco Player of the Match in the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025.
England Squad: Nat Sciver-Brunt (c), Em Arlott, Tammy Beaumont, Lauren Bell, Alice Capsey, Charlie Dean, Sophia Dunkley, Sophie Ecclestone, Lauren Filer, Sarah Glenn, Amy Jones, Heather Knight, Emma Lamb, Linsey Smith, Danni Wyatt-Hodge
