The veteran fast bowler has always wanted to take part in the Commonwealth Games and is desperate to play a major part for Team England
Katherine Brunt has been used sparingly by England this summer, but her enthusiasm has gone nowhere as the Commonwealth Games come nearer.
Her Test retirement was followed by an agelessly skilful performance at Northampton, before she was rested for the remainder of the ODI series, with an enormous fortnight on the horizon in the storied career of one of the all-time greats of the women's game.
At Chelmsford on Thursday evening, she mustered career-best figures and her hundredth T20I wicket before suggesting she'd felt rusty and not quite at her best.
"There's more to come, for sure," she insisted.
In the context of this unique summer, that's just as well. Two years ago, Brunt told The Cricketer of her burning ambition to still be around come Birmingham 2022, when women's cricket would enter the Commonwealth Games for the first time.
Plenty has happened since, but the 37-year-old – whose bout of Covid impacted her early-summer plans – has made it to her promised land.
"It sounds corny but growing up and watching people in the Olympics, with medals and podiums, I just adored those people and thought they were gods," she said, reflecting on the roots of her dream to compete in this tournament.
"To literally now be around those people and feel a part of what they're doing and who they are is, without being too corny, what my dreams were made of, and I'm sure the girls think the same. I never ever thought this would happen.
"It's a bit weird actually, but I'm so grateful and fortunate at the age I am to be here and still be able to be a part of it. It's great."
Brunt, 37, has seen an influx of young talent into England's squad over the last few months (Julian Finney/Getty Images)
It's a sporting cliché to remain focused on the next game – and for England that is a T20I at Worcester, with the multiformat series already won thanks to a convincing six-wicket win over a depleted South Africa unit in which she took four wickets – but Brunt is happy to make an exception for this opportunity.
"I don't think anyone's stopped thinking about the Commonwealth Games since we were told first that we were going to be in the Commonwealth Games," she laughed.
For England to win gold, that will mean eight games in little over a week, followed by the start of The Hundred shortly afterwards. For a veteran fast bowler, that schedule sounds like a stretch, but there is a particular steel in her determination to see it through to the end.
"I'm willing to do whatever it takes to play all of those eight games," she added. "I will give it everything I've got in every game.
"I will certainly not hold back, and I will have that gold medal in mind every time. If it means I break at the end of it, I break. But it's going to take a lot for me to not be there."
She has long-since accepted being a senior player in England squads, but the omission of Tammy Beaumont from Heather Knight's group and the international retirement of Anya Shrubsole ahead of this summer has opened the door to several youngsters.
Issy Wong was her new-ball partner at Chelmsford, while uncapped teenagers Freya Kemp and Alice Capsey have both been included in the Commonwealth Games group.
"I'm all for it," said Brunt of the influx of fresh blood. "I've been waiting for some seamers to come along and be like: 'Oi, out of here Brunt. You're too old, it's my turn.' Now they're here in abundance, I'm like: 'Right, I better up my game.' It brings the best out of me, it definitely brings the best out of them.
Brunt was full of praise for Sophia Dunkley (Julian Finney/Getty Images)
"I'd love to think I could help and nurture them to start their careers off with a bit of advice that I'd have never got. I'd love to think I'd give them the stepping-stone they need. I am genuinely really excited to see where they can go with it, so we're fortunate with what we've got on the bench, back home, in domestic cricket. The future looks good for England."
On what that advice would look like, she explained: "Not taking it too seriously. It was life and death for me. You'd torture yourself. (Sophia Dunkley) came off (after making 59 off 39 balls) and could not think about how great her batting was, just how annoyed she was that she got out. She was fuming and throwing her stuff around. She'd just got 60 off no balls. It was lush.
"They have to remember that they have to really cherish those little windows of happiness, not take it too seriously, take your breaks when you can and enjoy them. Bowling-wise, technically and tactically, we do that in the nets all the time.
"Sometimes, they don't come to me because I'm like that scary person that you can't approach, but when they come on tour they get to know that I am just a soft, harmless person that just wants to help them. I learn from them too – don't get me wrong, it's not one-way, it's definitely two-way. I hope they get as much from it as I do."
Dunkley, who has only established herself in the international arena in the last 12 months, is England's new T20 opener and excelled at No.3 in the preceding ODI series.
"She's brilliant, isn't she?" said Brunt. "I just love her to bits. I'm probably old enough to be her mum, but I think she looks up to me like a sister, and I love that. We spend a lot of time together, and she's a great human. She wants it really badly.
"She's overly critical about her cricket like myself, so I can relate. She just gets better, doesn't she? Some people might have doubted her at the beginning, but she's just got better and better. Today was wonderful to watch."
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