Editor’s Note: In the two months since they revealed their engagement to the world, English cricket players Natalie Sciver and Katherine Brunt have been busy in their sport. Earlier this month, Vice Captain Sciver hit an unbeaten century as England beat Pakistan by 127 runs in the second one-day international [ODI] in Kuala Lumpur. Earlier, Brunt became the first English woman cricketer to pick 150 wickets in ODIs. She achieved the feat during the first ODI of the three-match series against Pakistan which England won by 75 runs at the Kinrara Oval.
On Dec. 31, the couple marked one year since getting engaged to be married. Here’s a look back at how they told the world. Congratulations to Natalie and Katherine!
Who is the Outsports Person of the Decade? Click here to see “The Outsports 20” list
ORIGINAL REPORT from Oct. 15: Natalie Sciver and Katherine Brunt, two lesbian cricket players who play with England’s national team, announced their engagement on National Coming Out Day.
The couple told The Guardian that before getting engaged, they shared a house and lived as friends together for four years. During that time, Brunt turned down Sciver’s occasional romantic advances for fear of ruining their friendship and professionalism on-field.
Nevertheless, the two began dating shortly after winning the 2017 Women’s Cricket World Cup and then got engaged on New Year’s Eve 2018.
Although their teammates were supportive, they kept their engagement a secret because of Brunt’s Christian family. Though Brunt says her parents love and support unquestioningly… :
“My parents are different to Natalie’s… They don’t believe in the way I choose to live my life, basically, so it has been quite difficult. Having to tell my parents was really difficult because I care a lot about them so it was something I put off for a long, long time. But as I have got older, I have seen sense and realized that it is not about that, it is about being yourself and living life properly.”
Although Sciver came out to her family weeks before she and Brunt began dating, she has also struggled with internalized homophobia, avoiding discussions and hiding her engagement ring to not reveal her same-sex relationship. She has since pledged to stop hiding.
Sciver and Brunt aren’t the first pair of female national cricket players to tie the knot. In 2017, Amy Satterthwaite and Lea Tahuhu, two members of the New Zealand national team, also married.
Sciver and Brunt will wed in the Chamonix Valley of France immediately after they finish their cricket match series against India next September.
Follow Natalie Sciver on Twitter by clicking here and on Instagram. Katherine Brunt is also on Twitter and on Instagram.
