Women's T20 World Cup: England have a lot more to offer - Jon Lewis
- Published
SA beat England to make first World Cup final
There is "so much more to come" from England after their Women's T20 World Cup exit, says head coach Jon Lewis.
A ragged England lost by six runs to underdogs South Africa in a gripping semi-final in Cape Town on Friday.
They had won all four of their group games, including hitting a record 213-5 against Pakistan, playing a more aggressive style of cricket.
"The team is just starting their journey towards how we want to play," Lewis told BBC Sport.
"There will be some bumps along the road, this is one of them, and we have to learn and get better."
The number of professional women cricketers in England and Wales is set to rise to almost 100 this year after an increase in funding from the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB).
Lewis said this and the rise of franchise competitions such as The Hundred and the Women's Premier League in India, which starts next month, will benefit England going forward.
"There's so much more to come," he said. "There's so much talent in the room and a growing pool of talent outside of the national side.
"With all the competitions going on there are lots of opportunities for the girls to get out there and play a higher level of cricket and bridge the gap between regional and international cricket."
Despite being heavily favoured to beat the Proteas, England were rattled in the field and had to chase 165, their highest target of the tournament.
They made a flying start in reply and appeared on top at 132-3 in the 17th over, but their scoring stalled in a collapse of 5-26.
Lewis said England "got it right tactically" and were just "outplayed" by South Africa, who will face defending champions Australia in Sunday's final.
"It's tough to take, we were really positive going into the game," he said.
"At times we got a little defensive in our attitude to bowling - the players could've taken slightly more aggressive options."
Lewis and England's players talked throughout the tournament about playing with more freedom, emulating the way the men's white-ball team play and how Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum have revived the men's Test team.
"You give them the freedom to go out and play as you want them to play or how you'd like to play as a young kid," said Lewis.
"Winning is important but it's not everything, it doesn't define you as a team."
Katherine Sciver-Brunt shows her frustration
Lewis said this approach meant ensuring his team has "a safe place to play" because "psychological safety is really important" and players need to "understand that it's OK to make mistakes".
However, towards the end of the first innings of the semi-final, fast bowler Katherine Sciver-Brunt shouted at her team-mates for misfields and poor throws, also punching the floor in frustration.
Lewis said he would "definitely have a conversation" with Sciver-Brunt, but that her behaviour did not affect the outcome of the game.
"She's an incredible competitor, she has incredibly high standards," he added.
"On reflection from myself you would like her to be calmer in that situation and you would hope if she had that opportunity again she would be.
"She's been an incredible servant to our game, she's a brilliant cricketer and she wants the best for the team and sometimes that comes out in the high-pressure moments in the way it did."
Sciver-Brunt, 37, has retired from Tests, no longer plays domestic cricket and has been rested for recent one-day international series.
She has confirmed this was her last World Cup and said that "it won't be long" before she retires from all formats.
England are looking to regain the Ashes when they host the world's best side Australia in the multi-format series this summer, while Sciver-Brunt has been retained by Trent Rockets for this year's Hundred in August.
Lewis said he has not yet discussed Sciver-Brunt's future with her as the Ashes is still "a long way off".
He added: "She'll have a break now and contemplate what she's doing in the future and we'll pick that up in the summer."
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