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Nat Sciver-Brunt wants England to embrace Women’s T20 World Cup home advantage

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England captain Nat Sciver-Brunt has called on her side to embrace the power of home advantage in this summer’s Women’s T20 World Cup, as the hosts look to heal some of their tournament “scars”.

England Women have won four of their five major global trophies on their own soil, including a memorable 50-over title success at a packed Lord’s in 2017.

The trail has gone cold on the road over the past nine years, with the group-stage exit in the United Arab Emirates a notable low point at the previous T20 event in 2024.

Speaking at Edgbaston with exactly 100 days to go before their curtain-raising fixture against Sri Lanka, Sciver-Brunt acknowledged that it is time to put England back in the hunt for silverware.

“Being at home definitely gives you an edge; everyone in that team will be feeling the expectation,” she told the Press Association.

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“As a captain, that’s what you sign up for, and to lead the girls out on this ground will be so, so special. We know we’ll be brilliantly supported and we’re really looking forward to it. It’s in touching distance.

“It felt like that in 2017, too, but you never know if you’ll get another chance to experience something like that. Now, here we are with 100 days to go until we have another opportunity to rewrite English Women’s cricket a little bit.

“It’s been frustrating not to have accelerated as we wanted after the last World Cup win. The senior players have probably got a few more scars than some of the younger ones, so it’s up to us not to bring that into the team environment.

“We’ve got such a youthful team, we’ll be drawing on that youthfulness and trying to live in the present as much as we can.”

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Ticket sales surpassed the total for the 2017 World Cup in January and are now over 115,000, with buyers from 45 different countries and a sold-out allocation for the final on 5 July.

England Women celebrate winning the 2017 World Cup (John Walton/PA)

England Women celebrate winning the 2017 World Cup (John Walton/PA)

Tournament director Beth Barrett-Wild has even loftier ambitions as the fixtures edge closer and credits the Hundred with helping amplify the reach of the women’s game.

“What the Hundred did was transformative for women’s cricket. It’s not necessarily about unlocking a door, but it created a stage to present the women’s game to as many people as possible,” she told PA.

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“The competition in 2017 was a breakthrough moment for the game, but we’re past that milestone already, and we’re targeting a total attendance of around 270,000 this time.

“But we don’t just want to break records, we want this to be a moment that really changes behaviour and engagement. It’s about fan retention for 2027 and what the audience for women’s cricket looks like beyond that.”

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Monday gallop to shape Gin Twist’s 2026 campaign

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The decision on whether Gin Twist forges ahead to another start or enters a spell phase hinges on her performance in a track gallop.

Lindsay Park’s two-year-old filly is a potential runner in Saturday’s Listed Redoute’s Choice Stakes (1200m) at Caulfield, contingent on a satisfying showing in Monday’s gallop.

She was the hot favourite dispatched in the Group 3 Thoroughbred Breeders Stakes (1200m) at Flemington March 28, leading early before stopping to take third.

Ben, Will and J D Hayes prepare Gin Twist, who was accounted for by more than three lengths by the Sydney mare Satono Glow.

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Ben Hayes mentioned optimism surrounds the filly’s readiness for Saturday, as she exhibits no adverse aftereffects from the race.

“We’ll make a decision on Monday whether she runs or not after she does some work,” Hayes said.

“We feel that one, she raced a bit fresh last week and two, she didn’t handle the heavy track, but she has pulled up fine.

“It is a good opportunity for her and if she doesn’t work well, we won’t run her, but if she works well, we’ll run her.”

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The filly had previously claimed the Listed Festival Stakes (1000m) victory at Flemington on February 28, and was next in line as third emergency for Group 1 Golden Slipper (1200m) at Rosehill on March 21.

Lindsay Park refrained from interstate travel for her, aware a start was improbable.

Hayes is of the view that Gin Twist copes with 1200m and merits another attempt on a good track.

“I think she is a very fast horse, and 1200 metres is her limit,” Hayes said.

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“But it is hard to judge her off that run over 1200 metres, which was down the straight, and on a heavy eight (track).

“We can find out if she can the trip and then we’ll know how to place her next prep.”

Secure the best value with betting sites offering markets for the Redoute’s Choice Stakes.

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Liv Morgan breaks character to discuss her relationship with Rhea Ripley

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Liv Morgan broke character to comment on her relationship with WWE star Rhea Ripley. Both Ripley and Morgan will be challenging for major titles at WrestleMania 42.

In an interview with Esteban Ramirez, Liv Morgan broke character to comment on her relationship with Rhea Ripley. The Judgment Day star noted that she knew her former rival was going to be a star while they were in NXT together and left Ripley her locker when she got called up to the main roster.

“Rhea and I have quite a bit of lore. I remember back in the Performance Center when I saw her, I knew that she was gonna be a star. It was just very evident to me. So when I had gotten called up to the main roster, I had left Rhea my locker. I told her, ‘You can have my locker, you can move your stuff into my locker.’ She didn’t even have a locker yet,” said Morgan.

The Women’s Royal Rumble winner added that they will always be connected and compared their rivalry to Batman and The Joker.

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“I came back on the Liv Morgan Revenge Tour and took everything that she loved including Dominik, the Judgment Day and the Women’s World Championship. So I feel like we are both the heroes and villains in each other’s stories. She is the Batman to my Joker, and I am the villain in her hero’s story, and she is the villain in my hero’s story,” she added. [H/T: WrestleTalk on X]

You can check out the interview in the video below:

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Morgan will be challenging Stephanie Vaquer for the Women’s World Championship at WrestleMania 42.

Liv Morgan comments on recent WWE injury

WWE RAW star Liv Morgan recently discussed her injury last year that caused her to miss several months of WWE television.

In an interview with Brad Gilmore, the 31-year-old noted that the injury was devastating for her last year as she was on an upward trajectory. The WWE veteran added that she was upset about the situation during her hiatus last year.

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“I do feel like in the moment that I got injured, I was on a very upward trajectory. And so the injury obviously devastated me. I was very, very angry the whole entire time I had off time,” she said.

Liv Morgan says she was “angry the whole time” when she was recovering from shoulder injury: “I was mad the whole entire time,” Morgan said. “I got injured in a moment [when] I had multiple things going on for me. I was really enjoying and loving what I was doing. So to have all

Only time will tell if Liv Morgan can defeat Stephanie Vaquer to become champion once again at WWE WrestleMania.