| Date: Monday 13 February Venue: Boland Park, Paarl Time: 13:00 GMT |
| Coverage: Ball-by-ball Test Match Special commentary on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra and BBC Sport app. Live text commentary and in-play video clips on the BBC Sport website and app |
It is not often a World Cup fixture feels like the underwhelming event of the day.
But with the Women’s Premier League auction taking place on the morning of England’s encounter with Ireland in Paarl, it is no wonder all-rounder Nat Sciver-Brunt says it all feels “a bit weird”.
Players are expected to go for potentially life-changing sums of money in the competition, a women’s edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL), the world’s biggest franchise tournament.
There has been debate, speculation and excitement around the auction and which players will be picked up by the five franchises – three of which are owned by IPL teams.
“We don’t want to avoid talking about it and be all secretive about it,” said Sciver-Brunt, 30.
“We’ve had a chat as a group about how individuals want to go about it.”
England take on Ireland at 13:00 GMT, and the auction is expected to start at approximately 09:00 GMT, meaning some – but perhaps not all – of the players will know if they have been selected or not before the game begins.
Captain Heather Knight admitted pre-tournament that it would naturally be “a distraction”, and the timings mean there is some ambiguity around whether the players will know their fate before play.
“It’s up to individuals how they want to go about it and prepare,” said Sciver-Brunt, who is expected to be one of the most sought-after players.
“But when we get to the ground we will be fully focused on our match. It’s an exciting time, but it is a weird one that it is happening on game day.”
Another England player expected to be one of the first to be picked up is left-arm spinner Sophie Ecclestone, the world’s best bowler in T20 cricket who took 3-23 in England’s opening World Cup win against West Indies.
But despite being one of the world’s most high-profile players, Ecclestone remains calm about the prospect of the WPL – though acknowledges the excitement surrounding the build-up.
“It’s going to be a really interesting day,” said Ecclestone. “It will be weird having the auction in the morning but everyone is just focused on our game in the afternoon.”
It is likely that all of India’s players will be selected, and the vast majority of double world champions Australia’s squad.
For England, all players put their names in the auction but only the likes of Sciver-Brunt, Ecclestone and batter Danni Wyatt are almost guaranteed picks.
But around all the excitement, the challenge for England and head coach Jon Lewis – who is also coaching a WPL franchise – will be to try and avoid the distraction, though Ecclestone is not expecting to know the outcome before the game.
“I’ve not really thought about it much and it’s just a match day for me, no matter what happens tomorrow,” said Ecclestone.
“I don’t think we’ll know before, because we won’t have our phones, but we’ll just see what happens and go with the flow.”
