Why T20 World Cup matters to England and wider game

Why T20 World Cup matters to England and wider gameImage source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Nat Sciver-Brunt's England begin the T20 World Cup on Friday against Sri Lanka at Edgbaston at 18:30 BSTByMatthew HenryBBC Sport JournalistPublished1 minute agoNat Sciver-Brunt might be struggling to win one World Cup this summer.In team-mate Issy Wong's football sweepstake, the England captain has drawn rank outsiders Curacao. Her prospects of success can surely only improve from there.Because as the football kicks into gear in North America, and while Ben Stokes' England captaincy future makes headlines at home, Sciver-Brunt's side open their home T20 World Cup against Sri Lanka on Friday at Edgbaston.With competition for eyeballs fierce, this is a significant moment for the England team and cricket more widely in the UK.A shock group-stage exit? T20 World Cup team guidePublished1 day agoEngland's iconic 2017 World Cup win in their own wordsPublished22 hours agoIt is 15 months since England turned to Charlotte Edwards, and in turn Sciver-Brunt, and we should not downplay the difficulty of the task the coach and captain are facing.England have won all four Women's World Cups held in their home country, in a run going back to 1973. But they have failed to win any of the past six, spanning the T20 and 50-over formats.Missing out on a medal at the 2022 Commonwealth Games and five failures to win back the Ashes add to what has been a barren spell for England's women's side.The talk across recent months has been of hopes to follow the success of England's Lionesses and Red Roses, who won football and rugby union tournaments at home in 2022 and 2025.There were major obstacles in the way of those trophy lifts, but perhaps not quite as daunting as overcoming Australia's conveyor belt of female cricketers, the financial might and talent pool of India, or South Africa, who have reached three world finals in a row and believe their time...