Follow UsEngland women’s team captain Nat Sciver-Brunt’s wife and a former England cricketer herself, Katherine Brunt, went heavily after the team as they succumbed to yet another defeat. Between the away Women’s Ashes and the India series at home, England’s only good series was at home to West Indies when they swept both the ODI and the T20I legs.
But, after having already lost the T20I series 2-3, England were hoping for a reversal in the ODIs, especially after they humbled the Indian team in the second game at Lord’s and levelled the series 1-1.
However, they gave away too many runs and, chasing 319, could only muster 305, losing the match by 13 runs.
Lashing out at the team for their poor showing, Katherine, in a chat with BBC Test Match Special, said, "It's hard for me to understand some people sometimes, and their attitudes, because to me, it look lazy and like they don't care. Are they actually feeling like that? Or do you actually care a lot and that is your way of showing it? I struggled a lot with that.
"It came across to me as a bad attitude and no discipline. When the pressure gets to them, they go external and what comes out is not good cricket. They are being crippled inside, and suddenly they are not switched on, or they suddenly don't want the ball because they are scared to fail,” she added.
However, her partner, Nat, was not at all impressed by that opinion and defended her teammates by giving the example of her own younger self.
"I've actually been put in that situation before when I was a lot younger - 'she's so relaxed, she doesn't look like she's that interested' - but on the inside that's not what's true," said Nat, who tried her best to chase the total down with her 105-ball 98.
"I guess from the outside people might look in certain ways, but you never know what's going on inside. I know everyone on that pitch is committed to doing the best they can for England,” she added.
Nat was also backed by the newly appointed coach of the English women’s team, Charlotte Edwards. She said, "I couldn't be happier with where the squad's at, at the moment, in terms of the attitude and effort and professionalism they've shown."
However, more than the chatting, England women will have to walk the talk in a few months' time as they play the ODI World Cup in India from September 30 onwards.