​  Image source, Getty ImagesByMatthew HenryBBC Sport Journalist4 minutes agoNat Sciver-Brunt might be struggling to win one World Cup this summer.In team-mate Issy Wong’s football sweepstake, the England captain has drawn rank outsiders Curacao. Her prospects of success can surely only improve from there.Because as the football kicks into gear in North America, and while Ben Stokes’ England captaincy future makes headlines at home, Sciver-Brunt’s side open their home T20 World Cup against Sri Lanka on Friday at Edgbaston.With competition for eyeballs fierce, this is a significant moment for the England team and cricket more widely in the UK.A shock group-stage exit? T20 World Cup team guide1 day agoEngland’s iconic 2017 World Cup win in their own words22 hours agoIt is 15 months since England turned to Charlotte Edwards, and in turn Sciver-Brunt, and we should not downplay the difficulty of the task the coach and captain are facing.England have won all four Women’s World Cups held in their home country, in a run going back to 1973. But they have failed to win any of the past six, spanning the T20 and 50-over formats.Missing out on a medal at the 2022 Commonwealth Games and five failures to win back the Ashes add to what has been a barren spell for England’s women’s side.The talk across recent months has been of hopes to follow the success of England’s Lionesses and Red Roses, who won football and rugby union tournaments at home in 2022 and 2025.There were major obstacles in the way of those trophy lifts, but perhaps not quite as daunting as overcoming Australia’s conveyor belt of female cricketers, the financial might and talent pool of India, or South Africa, who have reached three world finals in a row and believe their time in now.This will be anything but straightforward.All you need to know about the Women’s T20 World Cup3 days agoWomen’s T20 World Cup schedule, fixtures, times & results3 JuneThere remains a growing sense of momentum around this England side, however.Edwards, the iconic captain brutally dropped before the last World Cup on these shores, has calmly dealt with the fitness questions which dogged the final months of the Jon Lewis regime since answering England’s SOS call in the aftermath of the 2024-25 Ashes whitewash.There was the underwhelming 50-over World Cup last autumn, but recent series wins over New Zealand and India have boosted both expectation and confidence.Over the space of six matches in May and early June, Alice Capsey moved from spare batter to middle-order linchpin, and Wednesday’s fifty for Sciver-Brunt after six weeks out with a calf injury was another timely boost.Seam bowling all-rounders Freya Kemp and Dani Gibson, the two most significant additions from last year’s 50-over exit, have also added a freshness and balance to this side.Kemp’s 39 not out from 13 balls against India in Bristol, which came with England 1-0 down in the series and at 117-4 in the 17th over, could yet be a sliding doors moment to l  BBC Sport