Katherine Brunt is ‘finding it hard to get over’ England’s controversial exit from last month’s Twenty20 World Cup but it has made her more determined to play in the 50-over World Cup next year. 

England ‘lost’ their semi-final in Australia because it was called off due to rain and, with no reserve day planned, India went through to the final as they had won their group.

Brunt, 35, is now preparing for the 50-over World Cup in New Zealand next February and March. Brunt said: “Before the Twenty20 World Cup, I thought there was no way on God’s earth that I would be playing in the 2021 50-over World Cup. But now I feel I owe it to the team after what we have been through. What happened at the last World Cup has made me more determined to be there. I am going to be aiming towards it and hopefully I stay fit. A lot will depend on how much cricket we can play this summer because a 50-over World Cup takes a lot out of you and I will need some practice in that format first.”

Due to the coronavirus outbreak, the 2020 cricket season has been delayed until May 28 at the earliest.  England were due to host South Africa and India before travelling to New Zealand in the winter. Brunt said: “It’s a funny one. I’m not really sure how to feel about it yet because it doesn’t seem real. The ECB is sending us equipment so we can exercise at home. But it is hard to get motivated if the season is going to be cancelled. I am not really getting excited or looking forward to anything. At this stage in my career, it would be devastating to lose a full season because I don’t have that many left. It would be really bad but I hope it doesn’t come to that. 

“When I got back from Australia, I self-isolated but I didn’t have any symptoms. I have been to see my mum and dad but I talked to them from their garden. I am being really careful because they are both in their 70s.” 

Brunt is still struggling with the memories of the abandoned World Cup semi-final last month. He said: “I am finding it really hard to get over. As the weeks go on, it just gets harder to deal with. If you lose a game or play badly personally, you know what to blame and how to improve but, in this situation, I have just got a lot of anger and frustration with nowhere for it to go. 

“It was really dumb and could have been avoided. Not one player would have wanted the tournament to be decided like that. It was unfair. I really wanted to tweet my emotions at the time but it’s always best to calm down first before speaking. I just think it was terrible for cricket and the tournament which had been going really well until that point.

“The tournament didn’t deserve to end like that. We were very confident of beating India on a pitch that suited us and then, after a good run, we felt we could give Australia a real battle in the final. A lot of our players, including myself, were coming into their best form at the right time.”