Katherine Brunt: On The Pitch I’m A Different Being

Katherine Brunt is still pushing off the sightscreen, a shiny new ball wedged tight between her fingers. Wardrobe-shaped shoulders, nimble on her feet, heart fit to burst. Born to bowl. But now the popping crease is approaching, and she’s ridden 
it before; and it’s coming, that day when she has to run right on through.

Because it’s been 13 years now. Thirteen years bowling fast for England. Thirteen years of bowling the fastest for England ever, going all the way back, to the first Test at Brisbane more than 82 years ago.

Thirteen years. The fastest and the sturdiest. Thirteen years, and amateur for a decade. Two Ashes wins, two back operations, two world titles. Player of the Match in a world final at Lord’s. Three times England Women’s Cricketer of the Year.

Once, she hit Charlotte Edwards in the nets. Edwards pulled away in pain, looked up, saw Brunt running down in tears. For most of those 13 years, Edwards was her captain. “She’s a different person away from the cricket environment. Everyone thinks she’s gonna be this loud, brash person… You can barely hear her speak sometimes.”

Sure they clashed. “It could be difficult. Sometimes it would boil over, and for other people that’s quite intimidating.”

There was one occasion. A World Cup game against South Africa. Brunt wanted one more over. She didn’t need one more over, but she wanted one more over. Edwards had to shut her down. “My ‘emotional control’ had gone overboard,” Brunt says. “I’d gone in the swede.”

We’re at Lord’s, overlooking the Nursery Ground. Practice is winding down. The plan is for England to contest the final here on July 23. “I didn’t even know about Lord’s,” she says, “until I saw Darren Gough bowling on TV. I didn’t think of this place as that.” She throws both hands up and laughs.

As a female cricketer, it was amateur for a long, long time, is the bank balance kicking on OK? If you walk away from the game, with all your medals and all the adulation, would you need a job just like that?
Not just like that, no. But all my money, I’ve saved. Not many people have done this, but I’m my dad’s daughter. I’ve saved every penny I’ve ever earned since I was 16. When I was playing for England I had three jobs, and the more I got along, I dropped a job off, to the point where up until a year-and-a-half ago I still had a job on the side. So all that money was saved and then I put some of it into property. I still have money in the bank, because when I leave myself open I can’t think about it, I hate the idea of being insecure. It’s scary, that’s the scariest thing about retirement. I have not received 300 grand a year, if I’d been on a man’s wage for the last 15 years I’d have been less worried about retirement because I would have saved every penny of it.

Is there a frustration that you got to be the best bowler in the world, and won world tournaments, and the amount you’ve been paid is comparatively a drop in the ocean?
I’m not bitter, but you always have that thought, and you know what your family is like, ‘Oh, it’s unfair! Women get treated poorly, they don’t get paid what the men do!’ But if you think along the lines of what you could’ve had, you’re going to get nowhere in your head. I try not to do that. I’m glad I was a part of something special in the past 13 years to help get to this point. I’m dead sure that’s how Lottie would feel as well. She won’t be bothered that she didn’t get paid because she paved the way for others, and for them to reap the rewards.

Do you think we’ll ever get to the point where the women’s team is recognised and respected as immediately as the men’s team always is?
I think we’ll get damn close to it. I believe in that. And I know Connie is doing everything above and beyond what she is paid to do. It’s part of where we are now because of her. You have to look at other sports, if other sports weren’t doing it, you’d have no hope, but they are. The more successful we are, the more popularity we bring to the game, the more players we produce. You need to bring entertainment. You need to get people to the game. You need to bring the money in. I do believe we’ll get damn close, but I don’t think it will be on the same level.

You need to bring entertainment. You need to get people to the game. You need to bring the money in

What is that hinterland for you? What is that world away from cricket? Who does it feature and what does it involve? You said you wanted to bear a child?
It’s so hard. You make so many sacrifices. I was in a relationship, and I thought that was it, and it went away because I ended up going away for six months and it was so difficult.

Does it have to be someone within cricket?
No, I wouldn’t recommend that! You have to separate work. You’ve got to find that balance and it’s so hard. They need to be as supportive when you’re away as much as you’re pissing them off by always being away. What you do is so special and so different that you need to find someone who’s supportive of that, and it’s difficult. It’s hard for everyone, and believe me I’ve gone through ups and downs. At the minute I’m just happy with me, and concentrating on becoming something more than I’ve always been. And that is through the batting and becoming an allrounder.

I wanted to ask you about batting. Whenever I watch the women’s team play, I always think, ‘Why isn’t she batting five or six?’ You’re a player for a crisis as well, and that’s so much more valuable than being able to play a nice cover drive. You’ve got that thing.
I just want to bring it to them. As a person I’m quite protective, and if I see something or someone failing, I want to help. So if one of our batters just got bullied and just got out and they’re in this really bad internal place, I see that and I want to help, no matter how many runs to win, I want to get out there and help. As a sportsperson you’ve always got to be confident, and if you’re not confident then do your best to try and look it! Just act confident, even if inside I’m shitting myself, you never know, Conor McGregor might be shitting himself but he puts his arms behind his back and he carries himself.

I like to express myself when I bat, I want to be able to play 360 [degrees], I want to be able to take on anyone in the world. That’s how I feel. And sometimes I wish other people did, but I think maybe I’m just a bit strange…