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Heather Knight (cricketer)

Heather Knight

OBE
Knight during the Women's Ashes Test, 2017
Personal information
Full name
Heather Clare Knight
Born (1990-12-26) 26 December 1990 (age 33)
Rochdale, England
NicknameTrev
BattingRight-handed
BowlingRight-arm off break
RoleBatter
International information
National side
Test debut (cap 149)22 January 2011 v Australia
Last Test14 December 2023 v India
ODI debut (cap 115)1 March 2010 v India
Last ODI3 July 2024 v New Zealand
ODI shirt no.5
T20I debut (cap 29)22 November 2010 v Sri Lanka
Last T20I27 November 2024 v South Africa
T20I shirt no.5
Domestic team information
YearsTeam
2008–2009Devon
2010–2024Berkshire
2014/15–2015/16Tasmania
2015/16–2019/20Hobart Hurricanes
2016–2024Western Storm
2020/21Sydney Thunder
2021–presentLondon Spirit
2023–presentRoyal Challengers Bangalore
2023/24–presentSydney Thunder
Career statistics
Competition WTest WODI WT20I WLA
Matches 12 143 125 233
Runs scored 803 3,913 2,121 8,676
Batting average 42.26 35.89 25.25 46.89
100s/50s 2/4 2/26 1/7 16/53
Top score 168* 106 108* 190
Balls bowled 413 1,923 585 4,747
Wickets 7 56 21 138
Bowling average 23.71 24.92 27.19 23.03
5 wickets in innings 0 1 0 2
10 wickets in match 0 0 0 0
Best bowling 2/7 5/26 3/9 5/14
Catches/stumpings 12/– 45/– 34/– 84/–
Source: CricketArchive, 29 November 2024

Heather Clare Knight OBE (born 26 December 1990) is an English cricketer who is captain of the England women's cricket team. She is a right-handed batter and right arm off spin bowler. Knight played in her 100th Women's One Day International match for England in December 2019.

Early life

Knight was born on 26 December 1990 in Rochdale and was educated at Plymstock School, a state secondary school in Plymouth, Devon.[1] She was offered a place at the University of Cambridge to study natural sciences, but turned it down so that she would have the time to play cricket.[2] She went on to study Biomedical Sciences at Cardiff University.[3]

Domestic career

Knight played club cricket for Plymstock Cricket Club in the Devon Cricket League.[4] She started attending colts training sessions at 8 years old and progressed through the club's youth system.

Knight is a prolific batter at county level, initially for her home county of Devon and currently for Berkshire. She topped the county run scoring aggregates in both 2008 (390 runs) and 2009 (622). She also played for the Diamonds, Sapphires and Emeralds in the Super Fours.

Knight captained Western Storm in the now-defunct Women's Cricket Super League, leading them to the title in 2017 and 2019.[5][6] She was the competition's leading run-scorer across its four seasons.[7] She continued to play for Western Storm in the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy in 2020.[8]

Knight has played domestically in Australia, previously for Tasmanian Roar and Hobart Hurricanes and currently for Sydney Thunder. She won the Women's Big Bash League in her first season with the Thunder, top-scoring with 26* in the final.[9] In 2021, she was drafted by London Spirit for the inaugural season of The Hundred.[10] In April 2022, she was bought by the London Spirit for the 2022 season of The Hundred.[11]

In the inaugural season of the Women's Premier League in 2023, Knight was bought by Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) at the price of 40 Lakhs.[12]

Knight joined Somerset in November 2024.[13][14]

International career

Knight was called into the England squad on their tour of India in 2010 as a replacement for the injured Sarah Taylor and played in the 5th One Day International on 1 March in Mumbai, opening the batting and scoring 49 on her international debut.[15] She toured Sri Lanka with the England team in 2010, making her Twenty20 debut in the 2nd match of the series on 22 November in Colombo.[16] She made her test debut in the one-off Ashes test at Sydney's Bankstown Oval in January 2011.

She is the holder of one of the first tranche of 18 ECB central contracts for women players, which were announced in April 2014.[17]

On 5 June 2016, Knight was appointed captain of the England women's cricket team after Charlotte Edwards stood down.[18]

She also became the first female cricketer to score a fifty and to take a five wicket haul in an ODI innings.[19]

2017 Women's Cricket World Cup

Heather Knight led the England team in her first Women's Cricket World Cup as captain, and they won the tournament despite losing to India in the opening match. In the second group match against Pakistan she, along with Natalie Sciver, went on to put on a record 3rd-wicket partnership in the history of Women's Cricket World Cup (213)[20] as England managed to defeat Pakistan convincingly by 107 runs.[21] In the final at Lord's Knight led England to a 9 run victory over India.[22][23][24]

Following the team's success, she was awarded an OBE in the Queen's 2018 New Year Honours list.[25]

In April 2018 she was named one of the five Wisden Cricketers of the Year for her part in the 2017 World Cup victory.[26]

2018 World Twenty20 and beyond

Knight batting for England during the 2020 ICC Women's T20 World Cup
Knight batting for England during the 2020 ICC Women's T20 World Cup

In October 2018, she was named as the captain of England's squad for the 2018 ICC Women's World Twenty20 tournament in the West Indies.[27][28]

In February 2019, she was awarded a full central contract by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) for 2019.[29][30] In June 2019, the ECB named her in England's squad for their opening match against Australia to contest the Women's Ashes.[31][32]

On 12 December 2019, during England's series against Pakistan in Malaysia, Knight became the tenth woman for England to play in 100 WODI matches.[33]

In January 2020, Knight was named as the captain of England's squad for the 2020 ICC Women's T20 World Cup in Australia.[34] In England's second match of the tournament, against Thailand, Knight scored her 1,000th run in WT20Is.[35] She also scored her first century in WT20I cricket,[36] and became the first cricketer to score a century in all three formats of women's international cricket.[37]

On 18 June 2020, Knight was named in a squad of 24 players to begin training ahead of international women's fixtures starting in England following the COVID-19 pandemic.[38][39] In June 2021, Knight was named as the captain of England's Test squad for their one-off match against India.[40][41] On 3 July 2021, in the home series against India, Knight scored her 3,000th run and took her 50th wicket in WODI cricket.[42][43] In December 2021, Knight was named as the captain of England's squad for their tour to Australia to contest the Women's Ashes.[44] In February 2022, she was named as the captain of England's team for the 2022 Women's Cricket World Cup in New Zealand.[45] In July 2022, she was named as the captain of England's team for the cricket tournament at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England.[46]

She was named captain of the England squad for the 2024 ICC Women's T20 World Cup[47] and for their multi-format tour to South Africa in November 2024.[48][49]

International centuries

Overview

Knight was the first woman, and also the first England player, to score an international century in all three formats of the game.[50][51] Her international centuries are:

Test centuries

Heather Knight's Test centuries[52]
# Runs Match Opponents City/Country Venue Year
1 157 2  Australia England Wormsley, England Sir Paul Getty's Ground 2013[53]
2 168* 9  Australia Australia Canberra, Australia Manuka Oval 2022[54]

One Day International centuries

Heather Knight's One Day International centuries[55]
# Runs Match Opponents City/Country Venue Year
1 106 68  Pakistan England Leicester, England Grace Road 2017[56]
2 101 111  New Zealand England Derby, England County Ground 2021[57]

T20 International centuries

Heather Knight's T20 International centuries[58]
# Runs Match Opponents City/Country Venue Year
1 108* 72  Thailand Australia Canberra, Australia Manuka Oval 2020[59]

Personal life

Knight's nickname is "Trev". In 2015, she explained to sports journalist Clare Balding that "When I was about 13 and introduced myself at cricket camp, they thought I said Trevor rather than Heather!"[60]

2012 Blackface Incident

In September 2024, Knight admitted a disciplinary charge relating to wearing Blackface to a 2012 end of season fancy dress party for a club in Kent whilst she was playing for Berkshire and England. She was reprimanded by the Cricket Discipline Commission (CDC) and fined £1,000, which was suspended for two years. In its adjudication the CDC said it accepted there was no racist or discriminatory intent, but it reiterated that the photograph which led to the charge was "plainly prejudicial to the interests of cricket" and "brought the game and Ms Knight into disrepute."[61][62][63]

Honours

Team

Individual

See also

References

  1. ^ "Knight is a first among equals at Plymstock". This is Cornwall. Northcliffe Media. 3 December 2008. Archived from the original on 5 May 2013. Retrieved 24 October 2011.
  2. ^ Westbury, Isabelle (27 July 2015). "Women's Cricket: Turning down Cambridge degree course was right for Heather Knight". The Independent. Archived from the original on 9 May 2022. Retrieved 28 July 2015.
  3. ^ Bailey, Susie (4 May 2017). "Examined Life – Heather Knight (BSc 2012)". Cardiff University. Retrieved 17 April 2024.
  4. ^ "Heather Knight: New England captain's journey from Plymstock to India". BBC Sport. 3 June 2016. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
  5. ^ "Western Storm seal 2017 KSL title with famous win". England and Wales Cricket Board. 1 September 2017. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
  6. ^ "Western Storm claim the 2019 Kia Super League title". England and Wales Cricket Board. 1 September 2019. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
  7. ^ "RECORDS / WOMEN'S CRICKET SUPER LEAGUE / MOST RUNS". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
  8. ^ "RECORDS / RACHAEL HEYHOE FLINT TROPHY, 2020 - WESTERN STORM / BATTING AND BOWLING AVERAGES". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
  9. ^ a b "WBBL Final: Sydney Thunder thrash Melbourne Stars by seven wickets to win title". BBC Sport. 28 November 2020. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
  10. ^ "The Hundred 2021 - full squad lists". BBC Sport. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
  11. ^ "The Hundred 2022: latest squads as Draft picks revealed". BBC Sport. Retrieved 5 April 2022.
  12. ^ Tripathi, Anuj (ed.). "England captain Heather Knight 'absolutely delighted' to be part of Royal Challengers Bangalore". India Today. Retrieved 22 February 2023.
  13. ^ "Knight agrees deal to join Somerset for 2025". BBC Sport. Retrieved 29 November 2024.
  14. ^ "Heather Knight to Represent Somerset". Somerset County Cricket Club. Retrieved 29 November 2024.
  15. ^ "England Women Tour of India 2009/10". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 8 May 2014.
  16. ^ "2nd T20I: Sri Lanka Women v England Women at Colombo (NCC), Nov 22, 2010. Cricket Scorecard". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 8 May 2014.
  17. ^ "England women earn 18 new central contracts". BBC. 20 April 2015. Retrieved 6 May 2014.
  18. ^ "Heather Knight appointed England women's captain". Sky Sports. Retrieved 27 October 2016.
  19. ^ "Records. Women's One-Day Internationals. All-round records. A fifty and five wickets in an innings". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 3 May 2017.
  20. ^ "Cricket Records. Records. Women's World Cup. Highest partnerships by wicket". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 7 July 2017.
  21. ^ "5th Match: England Women v Pakistan Women at Leicester, Jun 27, 2017. Cricket". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 7 July 2017.
  22. ^ Live commentary: Final, ICC Women's World Cup at London, Jul 23, ESPNcricinfo, 23 July 2017.
  23. ^ World Cup Final, BBC Sport, 23 July 2017.
  24. ^ a b England v India: Women's World Cup final – live!, The Guardian, 23 July 2017.
  25. ^ a b "Women's cricket rewarded in wake of World Cup win". The Daily Telegraph. 30 December 2017. p. 6.
  26. ^ a b Wisden names three female World Cup winners in its five cricketers of 2017 The Guardian, 11 April 2018
  27. ^ "England name Women's World T20 squad". England and Wales Cricket Board. Retrieved 4 October 2018.
  28. ^ "Three uncapped players in England's Women's World T20 squad". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 4 October 2018.
  29. ^ "Freya Davies awarded England Women contract ahead of India tour". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 6 February 2019.
  30. ^ "Freya Davies 'thrilled' at new full central England contract". International Cricket Council. Retrieved 6 February 2019.
  31. ^ "Fran Wilson called into England squad for Ashes ODI opener against Australia". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 29 June 2019.
  32. ^ "England announce squad for opening Women's Ashes ODI". Times and Star. Retrieved 29 June 2019.
  33. ^ "From bailing the team out of crises to clinching the World Cup: Heather Knight's top ODI knocks". Women's CricZone. Retrieved 12 December 2019.
  34. ^ "England Women announce T20 World Cup squad and summer fixtures". England and Wales Cricket Board. Retrieved 17 January 2020.
  35. ^ "Heather Knight becomes the first centurion in Women's T20 World Cup 2020". The Cricket Times. Retrieved 26 February 2020.
  36. ^ "Heather Knight scores maiden T20I century". Siasat. 26 February 2020. Retrieved 26 February 2020.
  37. ^ "First woman to score a ton in all 3 formats: The numbers from Heather Knight's T20 World Cup blitz". Scroll. Retrieved 26 February 2020.
  38. ^ "England Women confirm back to training plans". England and Wales Cricket Board. Retrieved 18 June 2020.
  39. ^ "England Women return to training with September tri-series on the cards". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 18 June 2020.
  40. ^ "Emily Arlott earns call-up to England Women Test squad". England and Wales Cricket Board. Retrieved 9 June 2021.
  41. ^ "Emily Arlott earns maiden call-up as England announce squad for India Test". Women's CricZone. Retrieved 9 June 2021.
  42. ^ "Magnificent Mithali guides India home in a thriller". Women's CricZone. Archived from the original on 9 July 2021. Retrieved 3 July 2021.
  43. ^ "India's Mithali Raj breaks run-scoring record in tense ODI win against England". Sky Sports. Retrieved 3 July 2021.
  44. ^ "Heather Knight vows to 'fight fire with fire' during Women's Ashes". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 17 December 2021.
  45. ^ "Charlie Dean, Emma Lamb in England's ODI World Cup squad". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
  46. ^ "Alice Capsey named in England's Commonwealth Games squad, Tammy Beaumont omitted". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 15 July 2022.
  47. ^ "England Women squad named for ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2024". England and Wales Cricket Board. Retrieved 3 October 2024.
  48. ^ "Uncapped Bouchier and Kemp in England Test squad". BBC Sport. Retrieved 9 November 2024.
  49. ^ "England drop Alice Capsey for South Africa T20Is, include two uncapped players for Test match". Wisden. Retrieved 9 November 2024.
  50. ^ "Hat-trick of centuries! England's Heather Knight becomes first woman to score tons in all three formats". Times Now. 26 February 2020. Retrieved 28 April 2022.
  51. ^ "Cricket: England captain Heather Knight hits a record-breaking century at the Women's T20 World Cup - CBBC Newsround". BBC newsround. 26 February 2020. Retrieved 28 April 2022.
  52. ^ "All-round records. Women's Test matches – Heather Knight". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 3 November 2021.
  53. ^ "Full Scorecard of AUS Women vs ENG Women Only Test 2013 - Score Report". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 3 November 2021.
  54. ^ "Only Test, Canberra, Jan 27 - 30 2022, Women's Ashes - Score Report". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 29 January 2022.
  55. ^ "All-round records. Women's One-Day Internationals – Heather Knight". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 3 November 2021.
  56. ^ "Full Scorecard of ENG Women vs PAK Women 5th Match 2017 - Score Report". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 3 November 2021.
  57. ^ "Full Scorecard of NZ Women vs ENG Women 4th ODI 2021 - Score Report". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 3 November 2021.
  58. ^ "All-round records. Women's Twenty20 Internationals – Heather Knight". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 3 November 2021.
  59. ^ "Full Scorecard of ENG Women vs Thai Women 7th Match, Group B 2019/20 - Score Report". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 3 November 2021.
  60. ^ Balding, Clare (19 February 2015). "Balding bowled over by England's women cricketers". BT Sport. Archived from the original on 23 July 2020. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
  61. ^ "Knight admits historical blackface social media post". BBC Sport. 23 September 2024. Retrieved 23 September 2024.
  62. ^ "Heather Knight admits racism charge over 2012 blackface photo". ESPNCricinfo. Retrieved 23 September 2024.
  63. ^ "England captain Heather Knight charged for historic blackface social media post". The Independent. Retrieved 23 September 2024.
  64. ^ "Walter Lawrence Trophy 2013: England's Shining Knight". The Walter Lawrence Trophy. 2 October 2013. Retrieved 18 April 2023.
  65. ^ "Walter Lawrence Trophy 2019: Knight's Double". The Walter Lawrence Trophy. 27 September 2019. Retrieved 18 April 2023.
  66. ^ "Hall of Fame: Walter Lawrence Women's Award". The Walter Lawrence Trophy. Retrieved 18 April 2023.