London, July 13
Surrey Cricket honoured England all-rounder Nat Sciver Brunt by naming a stadium gate at The Oval after her, in recognition of her success as the captain of the Surrey Stars.
"Surrey have today named a gate in honour of Nat Sciver-Brunt, in recognition of her 2018 Kia Super League success as captain of the Surrey Stars," a release said.
Sciver-Brunt was joined by friends and family as well as staff from Surrey CCC and the Kia Oval at a ceremony.
The Sciver-Brunt Gate sits at the Pavilion End of the ground, next to the Club Shop, and will be in use as England take on New Zealand in the fourth Women's IT20 fixture of the series on Saturday. It is only the second gate at a major international venue in the country to be named after a female cricketer.
The naming of the gate follows a tradition of naming gates around the Oval after winning captains, Sciver-Brunt will be joining such names as Stuart Surridge, Alec Stewart, and Ben Hollioake.
Sciver-Brunt joined the Surrey pathway at the Under 14 age group and made her senior debut for the county team in 2010 as an 18 year-old. The all-rounder was prolific for the county, scoring nearly 2,500 runs at an average of over 40 and over 50 wickets.
2016 saw the introduction of the Super League, and Sciver-Brunt was chosen to skipper the side. She scored 930 runs at an average just under 45 and took 32 wickets at an average under 35. In 2018, the Surrey Stars triumphed in the final, defeating the Loughborough Lightning by 66 runs, with Sciver Brunt scoring 40.
Nat Sciver-Brunt said "It is an absolute honour, I never thought I would see the name Sciver up there on a gate at the Oval! Having started at Surrey at 13 years old, I would absolutely pinch myself if I knew this would be happening."
Steve Elworthy, Chief Executive at Surrey Cricket, said,, "Nat has had a truly outstanding career so far and we are all hugely proud of her achievements. She led the Surrey Stars with distinction and it's a pleasure to recognise Nat by naming a gate after her."
"She is an inspiring role model and has had a long lasting impact on not only Surrey cricket but also at an international level," he concluded.
Sciver is one of the most decorated stars in English cricket history, with 649 runs, including a century and four fifties, and 11 wickets in 10 Tests, 3,676 runs, including nine centuries, 21 fifties and 76 wickets in 109 ODIs; and 2,480 runs, including 13 fifties and 86 wickets in 120 T20Is.