England cricketer via Tokyo, Netherlands and Poland

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Whenever an exceptional talent comes into the sporting world, the temptation is to look for the story. Not so much the pleasantries of why they play the game, but the extra, grimy bits. You know, the backstory that turns a vigilante billionaire, with time and army-grade trinkets at his disposal into the Dark Knight. A compelling fable that speaks of a past that serves as a well of emotional fuel for the toils of top-level sport.

For England allrounder Nat Sciver, that moment may have been the passing of her beloved rabbit, Floppy.

The scene is Poland, where Sciver grew up between the school years of six and nine. Central Europe is on the cusp of winter; in the space of a week, summer turns to winter with little fuss, and temperatures fall dramatically from 30 degrees to minus 20.

"We kept the rabbit outside for most of the summer," remembers Sciver, with a glint in her eye and fondess. "I sensed it was starting to get cold: 'Ermm, mum - we should probably bring the rabbit in.' The next morning, I went out to feed it and it was just stuck there, not moving." Sciver crooks her neck and cocks her elbows, clenching her fingers into the tops of her palms to resemble paws. She then scrunches her face into what presumably resembles Floppy's final expression. "It was traumatic."

In truth, it was not a vow to avenge the demise of Floppy that set Sciver on the trail she now blazes. Quite simply, it was the desire to excel at one sport.

Originally it was football, which she first played in Netherlands as part of a mixed team. She kept it going upon moving to Poland, before taking up tennis, which she enjoyed before a pushy coach soured her affection for it. Cricket was her third choice.

"I can't really say that, as I've gone and played for England now, can I?" she asks. "I have always been a very active person, so I needed something to do - a sport to be competitive at. It was only when I came to England that I started playing cricket. My dad played at school and throughout university. Every summer after he left he'd have this weekend where he would get back together with his mates and play.

"I used to go along with him, but they don't like it much when a girl bats. Particularly when she does as well as I do!"

From friendly knockabouts to a second Ashes series win in the space of six months. It's all happened so quickly for Sciver.

Making her senior England debut against Pakistan at Louth in July 2013, she earned the Player-of-the-Match award in her second outing against the same opposition for an impressive 3 for 28 on her university ground at Loughborough. She then played five of the six limited-overs matches of the summer's Ashes series, seeing out the third T20 with a finisher's knock of 37 not out.

Prior to the winter tour of Australia, Sciver became the first English cricketer to take a T20I hat-trick, completing the feat during the tri-nation match against New Zealand in Barbados.

Then came an Ashes defence, and her first taste of Test cricket. "How great was that?!" She's a fan.

And who wouldn't be after that match at the WACA; ebbing and flowing into a final day before England won and secured the six points on offer. Sciver's contribution to the match was a notable one, coming into the England first innings at 96 for 4 and taking the score to 189 before she departed for 49.

"It was annoying to get out so close to a fifty and fall short, especially after batting for what, like, a thousand balls [140]. But it was just amazing. Every day, a different team would be on top. I was quite nervous during day four when [Ellyse] Perry was in and threatened to take the game on her own. She showed later in the series just how destructive she can be."

The opportunity for this chat comes in the aftermath of England's defeat in the final T20 of the Ashes tour, at Stadium Australia in the Sydney Olympic Park. England have already won the series and at the end of the game are presented with the trophy.