Image Credit- BCCI
Nat Sciver-Brunt had to control her emotions after
taking home a staggering £320,000 at the first-ever WPL auction. Being
“sold” was not only an odd idea, but she also had a T20 World Cup
match to play that day with other England teammates who had lost out in the
auction and therefore missed out on a potentially life-altering financial
opportunity.
One major drawback emerged as the 2024 fixtures were finalised, around one
month before the competition gets underway on February 23. Just two days after
the WPL final, where their great all-rounder, Sciver-Brunt, was hoped to be
winning back-to-back championships with Mumbai Indians, England was already
scheduled to travel to New Zealand for two white-ball series that began on
March 19.
She was not going to hop on a plane, fly for nearly a
whole day, and then show up on the pitch for the first game.
She had to make a decision, and money undoubtedly had some influence on it.
“Yeah, I mean, I would be lying if I said
no,” Sciver-Brunt told ESPNcricinfo’s Powerplay podcast. “Having
obviously gone for that much in the first year, yeah, it certainly came into
consideration.
“Hopefully this weigh-up of club versus country doesn’t happen again. I
know we’ve see it happen with the men’s side of things and continue to happen
for quite a while, and still will. Hopefully these clashes don’t happen in the
future, which I guess will keep the importance of international cricket and
keep that focus for everyone.”
“It is such a hard one, because it’s almost like
it’s a bit of an anomaly, like it’ll – well hopefully – will not happen
again,” Sciver-Brunt said. “With the World Cup coming up, T20 is
obviously important as well to our side, but hopefully with the decision that
I’ve made, that will give a chance to some players to have a bit of confidence
in themselves in the first three games and be able to show Lewy and Heather
what they’ve got.
“I think it will only be better for our team, whether people have decided
to go to New Zealand and not go to the WPL in the end, or hopefully people who
have done well in India and got to some pressure matches, which will also help
their game. So yeah, it was a tricky decision and I guess individuals have made
their own their own choices and hopefully we won’t be faced with that
again.”