In June 2022, she announced her retirement from playing Test cricket.[4][5] In May 2023, she announced her retirement from all international cricket, before retiring from all cricket in August 2023.[6]
Career
An aggressive right arm fast bowler with a classical action, she played for Yorkshire age group sides before taking a break from cricket at the age of 17 due to fitness concerns. She went to Penistone Grammar School, Barnsley, South Yorkshire. She returned for the Test against New Zealand in 2004 and was a member of the 2005 England World Cup side in South Africa. She took 14 wickets and scored her maiden half century as England won the Ashes in 2005 and opened the bowling in England's successful 2009 World Cup Campaign.
She was Player of the Match in the 2009 Twenty20 World championship final at Lords, taking 3 wickets for 6 runs in her 4 over opening spell[7] and took a career best 6 for 69 in the one off Ashes Test which followed. Her best figures in one day internationals came in the final of the 2011 NatWest Women's Quadrangular Series where her 5 for 18 bowled England to victory over Australia.[8]
She is the holder of one of the first tranche of 18 ECB central contracts for women players, which were announced in April 2014.[9]
In October 2018, she was named in England's squad for the 2018 ICC Women's World Twenty20 tournament in the West Indies.[13][14] However, she was ruled out of the tournament due to a back injury and was replaced by Fran Wilson.[15]
On 18 June 2020, Brunt was named in a squad of 24 players to begin training ahead of international women's fixtures starting in England following the COVID-19 pandemic.[22][23] In June 2021, Brunt was named as in England's Test squad for their one-off match against India.[24][25] In December 2021, Brunt was named in England's squad for their tour to Australia to contest the Women's Ashes.[26] In February 2022, she was named in England's team for the 2022 Women's Cricket World Cup in New Zealand.[27]
In April 2022, she was bought by the Trent Rockets for the 2022 season of The Hundred.[28] In July 2022, she was named in England's team for the cricket tournament at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England.[29] Later the same month, during England's home series against South Africa, Brunt took her 100th wicket in WT20I cricket.[30] On 30 July 2022, in England's first fixture of the Commonwealth Games, against Sri Lanka, Brunt played in her 100th WT20I match.[31] In January 2023, Brunt announced her retirement from county and regional cricket.[32] In May 2023, Sciver-Brunt announced her retirement from all international cricket.[33]
Personal life
Brunt's nicknames are "Brunty" and "Nunny". In 2015, she explained to sports journalist Clare Balding that she is known as Nunny because she had set off a fire alarm during a residential cricket course at the Benedictine-run Ampleforth College.[34]
In October 2019, Brunt announced her engagement to fellow England cricketer Nat Sciver.[35] They were scheduled to get married in September 2020, but their wedding was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[36] The couple eventually married in May 2022.[37] Both changed their last name to Sciver-Brunt when they married, and in January 2023 it was announced that the pair would both go by the name in all cricket-related instances.[38]
On 20 September 2024, the couple announced Katherine was pregnant with their first child.[39][40]