Twice, spontaneously, Nat Sciver-Brunt evokes his mental health.
“I’m fine with my cricket and as a person,” she said.
The all-rounder has been England’s rock for 10 years, always the calmest in all crises.
On and off the pitch, she rarely gives anything away – described by her more expressive wife Katherine as the yin to her yang.
Last September, after taking charge of England at the Commonwealth Games when captain Heather Knight suffered an injury, she decided to take a mental health break.
“It was something I needed because of the six months a year before,” Sciver-Brunt said.
“Everything, not built, but it kind of got the better of me.”
The first public sign she was struggling came when an overwhelmed and insecure Sciver-Brunt gave an interview after nearly securing an incredible win for Trent Rockets over Southern Brave in last September’s Hundred Eliminator.
Eight months later, she is speaking openly about her decision, a room of five reporters silently held by every word.
“I haven’t watched the interview and I don’t really want to,” Sciver-Brunt says.
“I know what I said and I guess that was exactly how I felt at the time. It was probably the first interview of the month that I had been able to get through without crying.”
Live on Sky Sports, Sciver-Brunt spoke about the difficulties of life on the treadmill of professional sports.
“Sometimes when you’re home for two or three days, thinking about putting the laundry in, unpacking your bag and doing it again shortly after, being able to have things to help me switch off and to not think about what’s coming and to stay in this moment a little bit more…I find it quite difficult,” she said.
Six days later, Sciver-Brunt announced his hiatus, ruling him out of a series against India.
The Hundreds came at the end of an eight-month spell in which England surprisingly missed out on a Commonwealth medal, lost a 50-win World Cup final to New Zealand and were beaten by Australia in the the ashes.
“I spoke to a clinical psychologist a few times and tried to reflect particularly on the Commonwealth Games and how it happened and how it affected me, which was probably the main trigger for the need to go home,” says Sciver-Brunt.
“I did things that had been on the to-do list for a year. Just be happy at home, do normal things, mow the lawn, walk the dog.”
Sciver-Brunt, who will play for the Trent Rockets again in The Hundred later this summer, has been an England regular since 2013.
For a generation, fans, commentators and pundits, and most likely players too, thought, “Nat is still here. England will be fine.”
It comes with its own pressures.
“I’ve probably had that expectation on me for a lot longer than you let on,” she says.
“That’s the role I want to play. I want to be in the tough times and affect the game every time I touch the ball or whatever.
“It’s probably also a bit of my fault. It seemed to work most of the time, but not all of it.”
Sciver-Brunt returned in December and in February dominated in another World Cup, although he was unable to stop another disappointing England semi-final exit.
Averaging 72 with the bat in South Africa, she then led the Mumbai Indians to the Women’s Premier League title, winning the player of the match award in the final.
Sciver-Brunt may have been signed for £320,000 – the second-highest amount for a foreign player in the WPL – but she’s as measured off the pitch as she is on it.
“I just bought a new phone and a watch, not much,” she says of her new income.
“I’m really a little tight. I also bought an Apple watch, but it was [Mumbai Indians owner] Mrs. Ambani.”
The next challenge for Sciver-Brunt is just over a month away and is probably the toughest of all sports.
The Ashes start on June 22 against Meg Lanning’s Australia, who have won the last four World Cups and are unbeaten in four Ashes series.
She will also compete without his wife Katherine, who has retired from internationals.
Earlier this month, 20-year-old bowler Issy Wong boldly claimed that this summer was a “great time” to play against Australia.
Whether it was Sciver-Brunt’s wise header or just the difference between two opposing personalities, the all-rounder struck a much more measured tone when discussing England’s chances.
” Since [2022] Ashes in my mind, I felt closer [to Australia] than before in terms of skills,” she says.
“It’s only if we can do it in the moments of pressure.
“In tournaments, it’s the same. We’re doing very well, there’s a pressure game [ending in defeat] and from there you learn but you don’t learn because the tournament is over.”
Whether England can stop Australia remains to be seen.
With Sciver-Brunt prominently on and off the pitch, they will at least have a chance.
