sport news England's women are left gutted as New Zealand pip them to cricket bronze at ... trends now England's women are left 'gutted' as New Zealand pip them to cricket bronze at the Commonwealth Games... with record white-ball wicket-taker Katherine Brunt left in tears as she admits her international career may be over England were defeated by New Zealand in the bronze medal match at the Games NZ Women won by eight wickets (with 49 balls remaining) at Edgbaston England's Katherine Brunt was visibly upset after the disappointing defeat Doubts remain over England's record white-ball wicket-takers future in the sport By David Coverdale For The Daily Mail Published: 16:57 BST, 7 August 2022 | Updated: 17:09 BST, 7 August 2022 Viewcomments Try telling Katherine Brunt these Commonwealth Games do not matter. England's record white-ball wicket-taker has won it all in her long career, including both T20 and 50-over World Cups. Yet her tears at missing her one shot of a multi-sport medal told their own tale. Before Birmingham, Brunt had said a gold in the Games' inaugural women's tournament would be 'a nice little finish' to her career. Instead, if the bowler does bow out, it will be after a painful fourth-place finish – hardly a fitting ending for one of England's finest female players. England record white-ball wicket-taker Katherine Brunt was upset after defeat to New Zealand NZ Women won by eight wickets (with 49 balls remaining) to claim the bronze medal The 37-year-old will take time to reflect on the disappointment of this weekend – when they lost to India in Saturday's semi-final and New Zealand in Sunday's bronze medal match - before she makes any firm decision on her future. Yet Brunt knows England blew a golden opportunity to make history in front of a home crowd at Edgbaston – and the emotion came pouring out as she explained just what it all meant. 'This is really hard,' said Brunt. 'The feeling is gutted. We play international cricket for England, so this should not feel any different but it did feel different. It felt like the whole country was behind us. 'We're sad we let them down. On a personal level, it's my one and only shot at a medal, so I'm obviously taking it quite badly. Brunt admitted that her international career may be over following the defeat at Edgbaston 'Everything is heightened when you get to the end of your career. Is this my last England game? I don't know. I need to reflect and see where I'm at and what my next goal is.' Brunt had hoped to be contesting last night's gold medal after England cruised through their group. Yet they lost to India by four runs in Saturday's semi. And they were not able to pick themselves up against the White Ferns, who knocked off the 111 runs they required in just 11.5 overs – only one ball more than it took England to thrash them in the round-robin on Thursday. However, while this was not ultimately a successful tournament for the hosts, it has been for the women's game as a whole, with new fans flocking to Edgbaston. 'It has been an incredible experience,' reflected England's stand-in skipper Nat Sciver. 'Having that new audience is really special and something that can only help women's cricket. I'd love cricket to be in the Olympics.' Share or comment on this article: All rights reserved for this news site (dailymail) and under his responsibility