Heather Knight: England eager to add to summer of sporting success 

Media release

Heather Knight has watched on captivated as England’s women’s footballers and rugby players have earned silverware this summer – now she wants the cricketers to follow suit.

Knight was a spectator at the Lionesses’ opening two group games at the European Championships, which they went on to win, while last weekend saw the Red Roses crowned Women’s Rugby World Cup champions in front of 82,000 fans at Twickenham.

Attentions now turn to India and Sri Lanka, where England are looking to complete a hat-trick of major tournament successes and add to the feelgood factor around women’s sport back home – while Knight has been making use of her contacts book to gain valuable expertise.

“It was really cool to be out in Switzerland watching the Lionesses,” she said.

“I know Leah (Williamson, England football captain) a little bit and we got her in to talk to the London Spirit during The Hundred.

“It was great to hear about her experiences out there. Having been on successful teams before too, from the outside it always looks perfect when people win, but hearing the inside stuff, you realise that’s not always the case and you have to overcome different challenges to be successful. It was a really nice reminder.

“Seeing the Lionesses and Red Roses do so well is very motivating, it has been great to see.

“The effect that can have on women’s sport in the UK is unbelievable and we are definitely keen to tap into that success and contribute to that bigger picture of making women’s sport hugely successful and in everyone’s psyche as much as we possibly can.”

Knight enters this World Cup aiming to prioritise enjoyment after a 2025 that could best be described as testing.

After nine years as captain, she lost the role after her side were whitewashed by Australia in the Ashes and went on to miss the vast majority of the English summer with a hamstring injury.

This World Cup proved well timed as a light at the end of the tunnel and she has made her comeback in eye-catching warm-up wins over India and Australia.

“There was a pretty good chance I wasn’t going to make this World Cup, it was pretty tight,” she said.

“We had to be pretty careful in the last few weeks to make sure I wasn’t coming back too soon and decrease the risk of doing it again.

“I’m pretty chuffed I’ve made it here and I am desperate to try and enjoy it more than anything.

“There is sometimes a tendency, and I have definitely done this before, to expect to be perfect straight away and put loads of pressure on yourself to go and make an impact.

“The way to get the best out of myself on the cricket pitch is to enjoy being here, embrace everything, be happy I am here and put trust in the work I’ve put in. Hopefully that will result in me contributing to us winning games.”

Having spent so long steering the England ship as captain, including guiding them to victory in this competition in 2017, Knight is enjoying the adjustment to her new role back in the playing ranks.

“As captain, I feel it helped me get the best out of myself as a person and with the bat,” she said. “Now it is a new challenge to do that as a player and it is one I’m looking forward to.

“You do have a bit more time to focus on yourself, which I’m hoping is a good thing but sometimes can be a bad thing.

“I’m really conscious of that and really clear of how I want to do things to get the best out of myself to help the team win.”

One benefit of Knight’s newfound freedom is more time on her hands. She plans to put it to good use, tapping up some of her teammates to teach her a new musical skill.

“My project for the winter is to try and pick up guitar,” she said.

“Charlie Dean and Issy Wong play, they would often be having a jam on the bus during The Hundred.

“I’ve always loved music but had very minimal musical talent and probably not enough time to be able to do that sort of stuff.

“I decided this winter, with a lot of time in hotel rooms, I would give it a go. They took me to Issy’s local guitar shop in Birmingham, where she was greeted like a returning hero. “They helped me pick out a little travel guitar, so that’s my little project to keep myself busy and pick up a new skill. They are both very good teachers – I’m enjoying it.”

ENDS