WPL: How Nat Sciver-Brunt ended a 1059-day wait for league’s first ton

When Nat Sciver-Brunt, the strongly built England captain in all three formats, chipped Shreyanka Patil of Royal Challengers Bangalore over the infield on Monday, she created a welcome piece of history in the Women’s Premier League (WPL). It took the league four seasons and as many as 10 nervous Nineties to get it’s first centurion – in what could be the first of many to come.

 The ‘first’ one to reach a landmark like this one usually becomes a part of folklore, much like Brendon McCullum’s sizzling, unbeaten 158 for Kolkata Knight Riders against RCB in the inaugural match of IPL in 2008. Scivers-Brunt’s unbeaten 100 off 57 balls for champions Mumbai Indians, at a strike rate of 175.44 against a quality opposition, would have done any of the male counterparts in franchise cricket proud and reflects the palpable improvement of quality and stamina in the women’s game.

 A statistical look says that WPL had to wait for 1059 days and 82 matches across four seasons for this, the longest wait for a maiden century in any major T20 franchise league, but it’s a game where one ball with the batters’ name written on it means curtains irrespective of the quality of the innings.

The likes of Kiwi strongwoman Sophie Devine (2023) and Georgia Voll (2025) fell for 99 while in the ongoing season which is now heading towards the business-end, Smriti Mandhana and Devine fell for 96 and 95, respectively.

 ‘’Yeah, obviously I’d seen a few players get out in the 90s, so I didn’t want to replicate that,’’ Sciver-Brunt said after the innings. ‘’But I also wanted to get as many runs as possible for the team. I’m really pleased we could get up to that total, and personally really happy as well,’’ said the allrounder who took England captaincy from Heather Knight last year.

 At 33, Sciver-Brunt is someone who has been there and done that – boasting of 8883 runs in T20 cricket before Wednesday’s game, the most by a woman without an individual century. The tally was also the highest for anyone before their maiden T20 century (men or women).

Kieron Pollard of the West Indies previously held this record, having scored his maiden century after 8316 runs while the equivalent record among women was held by Elyse Villani, with 6441 runs closely followed by Amy Satterthwaite (6436).

In the WPL alone, Sciver-Brunt had 12 fifty-plus scores, going past the 11 fifties by Meg Lanning. Sciver-Brunt is also the leading run-getter of the league with 1346 runs. Soon after reaching the magic figures, she removed her helmet to acknowledge the applause with a T celebration - a tribute to her son, Theodore Michael and and a gesture to her wife Katherine Sciver-Brunt.

‘’Just a little nod to home,’’ she said. ‘’Katherine is obviously watching - well, hopefully. She’s actually a really nervous watcher, so she’s probably not watching but she wanted a T and she wanted me to get three figures, so here we go.

 ‘’I guess it’s my first T20 hundred, so I’m really happy to get over that milestone, and hopefully it’s not the last.’’