Former England fast bowler Catherine Sciver-Brant will watch at Lord’s as her wife Nat tries to lead her country to glory.
Although she is a nervous observer – she was often seen unable to watch games due to nerves during her time on the BBC Test Match Special – as a player she was ruthlessly competitive and no team ignited her passion more than the Australians.
“It was the biggest fight for me,” Skiver-Brunt told BBC Sport when asked how she approached the mental battle ahead of the Australia game.
“When you play Australia because they are so good, it brings out the animal in me because I needed to go to this place. They bring out the best in you.”
“But at the same time they can beat you before you even start and I think that’s what happened with the West Indies (in the semi-final) – Australia can get into your head before you even set foot on the field and you can’t let that happen.”
England have faced Australia twice since the disastrous Ashes – a six-wicket defeat at the World Cup in October and a five-wicket defeat in the warm-up match before the start of this tournament.
Despite that record, Skiver-Brunt doesn’t think England will dwell on the past.
“As a recent ex-player, it’s very difficult for me to turn off my feelings when it comes to the England v Australia match,” Skiver-Brunt said with a laugh.
“I know they have given us complete satisfaction and as a player I would have jumped at it.
“But my head didn’t go there (to the Ashes) and to be honest I don’t think they have it either. What you see in England is so different now and it has happened very quickly.”
“They’ve ridden the wave of a fresh start and a fresh start and they have all the confidence and belief that you have to win something big.”
However, the stakes are much higher at Lord’s and this England team has been accused of failing to deal with such situations in the past.
And then the legend of the game comes in to control the ship…