Natalie Sciver is celebrating her 29th birthday today. The England cricketer started her international career in 2013 and has since established herself as a dependable middle-order batter who has produced several important innings over the course of her career so far. A right-hand batter and bowler, Sciver has five wickets under her belt in six Test matches, along with 51 scalps from 73 ODIs, and 70 wickets from 86 T20Is.
She has scored 270 runs in Tests; 2,123 runs in ODIs, and 1,668 runs in T20Is. As the cricketer celebrates her big day, we take a look back at her career and list some of her top performances.
4/21 (including hat-trick) vs New Zealand, 2013 - Bridgetown, West Indies
Sciver became the first English cricketer (male or female) to take a T20I hat-trick in 2013 during a tri-nation T20I series, playing against New Zealand. She removed Maddy Green, Erin Bermingham and Frances Mackay off the final three balls of her spell to finish with figures of 4/21.
4/15; 47 vs Australia, 3rd T20I, 2015 – Cardiff
Sciver recorded her career-best figures with both bat and ball (then) in the shortest format of the game. She took a career-best 4/15 with the ball and top-scored with 47 (44 balls) including two fours and a superb six, to ensure her side ended the series on a high with a consolation win.
137 vs Pakistan, 2017 ICC Women’s World Cup - Leicester, England
The all-rounder’s maiden ODI hundred couldn’t come at a better time. Playing against Pakistan, she her blistering innings of 137 from 92 balls included 14-fours and four sixes. Along with her captain Heather Knight, who registered a three-figures score for the first time in the format, she helped England post a formidable total of 377/7. Owing to the dominating show with the bat from Sciver and Knight, England went on to win the match comfortably by 107 runs (DLS method).
3/4 vs South Africa, 2018 ICC Women’s World T20 Cup - Gros Islet, Saint Lucia
In another crunch game, Sciver picked three wickets (3/4) and fired 20 dot balls (in 4 overs) that helped England to a win as they booked a berth in the World T20 semi-final. Teammate Anya Shrubsole took a hat-trick in the final over to seal the deal. The duo’s 6/15 sent the Proteas women crashing out in the last league phase of the event.
80 (33 balls); 2/12 (5 overs) vs Pakistan, 2nd ODI, 2016 – Worcester, England
England Women rewrote the records books that summer, as Tammy Beaumont and Lauren Whitfield featured in a superb opening stand of 235 runs in 39 overs. Sciver’s brutal 80 off just 33 balls then helped England to a total to 378/5 from 50 overs, their highest ODI total. In response, their counterparts from Pakistan folded at 166 under 48 overs, handing the hosts a winning 2-0 lead in the best of three series. Sciver also picked two wickets from her five over spell which included two maidens while giving away just 12 runs.
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