England ‘blocking outside noise’ – Sciver-Brunt

In response to criticism from the media for their performances on the Women’s Ashes tour, all-rounder Nat Sciver-Brunt claims England are focusing on “blocking the outside noise.”

England will be vying to avoid a 16-0 clean sweep in the one-off Test match that begins in Melbourne on January 30 after losing all six of their whiteball matches against Australia.

England’s performances have disappointed, but the team has also attracted a lot of attention for off-field incidents, such as Sophie Ecclestone’s refusal to interview Alex Hartley before the first T20 in Sydney.

After he cited climate benefits, including the “Bondi to Coogee walk,” as a reason for their greater strength, head coach Jon Lewis’ comments have also sussed a lot of controversy in Australia, but vice-captain Sciver-Brunt said she prefers to stay away from the comments.

“We talk about ourselves and how we want to play, so we’re just trying to block the outside noise and focus on what we can do better”, Sciver-Brunt told BBC Sport.

“We’re professional cricketers, we know the noise is out there. Obviously, on the whole, we are all disappointed but we have one game to go, and we are ready to put ourselves out there again”.

Lewis also made it clear that Australia’s players had better athleticism, agility, and power, but he continued to defend his position that fitness was not the cause of England’s sixth successive defeat.

Ebony Rainford-Brent, an England all-rounder and World Cup winner, acknowledged the difficulty of engaging with female players in such discussions, but she also stressed the need for difficult discussions to be had in order to improve the team.

There is a reluctance to criticize athletic performance or image, which is specific to women’s sport, according to Rainford-Brent, according to the BBC Test Match Special podcast.

However, the players are beginning to criticize what is happening now that they have entered a new era.

I’m interested to know whether the players and management are criticizing the dressing room enough, or whether everyone is just being “nicey nicey.”

“If England are to advance, they must be able to handle difficult situations that come in from the outside.” They must step up in order to advance and be the best.

Michael Vaughan, the ex-test captain for England, also questioned the team’s intelligence and demanded that the team start conducting an honest analysis before attempting to compete with Australia, who “set the benchmark for men’s and women’s cricket.”

Have England’s fielding staff improved in the last five years? Are the players improving, are they developing more dynamic bats, are the bowlers getting more consistent, or are they more agile?

The game needs to ask why, and the answer to those questions is likely to be no.

“England aren’t good enough at the fundamentals of the game,” he said, adding that the Coogee-Bondi walk is not necessary if they want to play like the Australia side.