In the end, the executions were swift.
News that Heather Knight would stand down from her role as England Women’s captain came just 24 hours after the announcement of Jon Lewis’s departure. Although, in reality, they began their journey to the block as soon as the last ball went down in Melbourne, sealing their heaviest Ashes defeat of all time. While technically ambiguous, the ECB press releases left no doubt about whose decision these parting of ways were. Regardless of whether Knight or Lewis felt capable of leading the steady climb up from this low point, the inevitable axe coming down was inescapable.
For Lewis, who took over the role in 2022 at another low point, the end of his stint in charge for the most part marks continued stagnation rather than progress. When he came in, England were stale, having lost the Ashes 12-4, crashed out of a home Commonwealth Games before the final, and lost to India at home in the year preceding his appointment. With The Hundred then two years old and the task of replacing Katherine Sciver-Brunt and Anya Shrubsole weighing heavy, spreading that feel-good atmosphere was the name of the game. And, for a while, he was a success.
England ruthlessly battered the West Indies in the Caribbean during his first tour in charge before setting the highest total in the T20 World Cup in South Africa months later. Lewis's first summer in charge brought the indisputable high point of his tenure, an almost impossible comeback against the best side in the world in front of record crowds in the 2023 Ashes. That feel-good factor was emphatically back.
It wasn’t only a feeling. That summer saw the beginnings of Lewis’s greatest success as head coach. Spotted in a net ahead of the Ashes relatively unknown, he fast-tracked Lauren Filer into the side and was immediately rewarded with her scintillating opening to Ellyse Perry. With a group of young and promising fast bowlers under his care, he and his staff nurtured raw and untapped talent into a diverse and successful pace-bowling attack. There are some notable exceptions, the faltering of Issy Wong the most obvious. But England come out of his tenure with huge potential in the attack built over the last two years.
However, in almost every other department, progress has been minimal to non-existent. Despite persistent problems against spin, those failings have not been effectively addressed, culminating in the dominance of Australia's spinners earlier this year. The pressure problem that has spanned several head coaches still lurks behind every knockout tournament or marquee series. And perhaps most importantly in the short-term, no progress has been made on what the team will look like when the names who have dominated its XIs for the last decade move on.
Knight’s departure brings far more of a headache than Lewis’s. The end of her England captaincy is far from emotionless. She was the captain who led England through the first era of professionalism, inspired a new generation of fans and players when she lifted the World Cup trophy at Lord’s on that immortal day in 2017, shouldered burdens during the pandemic and provided a stoic stability few others would have been able to sustain. Her leadership off the field matched her authority on it, recently making time to support the exiled Afghanistan women during the Ashes and using her position to champion continued inequality at every opportunity at home. That she steps down at such a low point is a dispiriting end to her captaincy, which spanned an era which will forever be bound to her identity.
9️⃣ years as captain
— Wisden (@WisdenCricket) March 22, 2025
3️⃣ World Cup finals
1️⃣ World Cup win
An era ends as Heather Knight leaves her role as England captain. pic.twitter.com/paM2ODZn04
But the unravelling of those entwined identities is what the ECB, and whoever next takes over, are now faced with. Regardless of Knight’s exceptionality as a leader on and off the field, a culture of drifting over ruthless performance-chasing has evolved under her watch, and eradicating that is crucial to moving into an era of expectation over aspiration. But, while there are options and favourite(s), for the head coach position, the captaincy choices that would truly embody this transition are almost barren.
Tradition would hand the role to Nat Sciver-Brunt as the current vice-captain. While she’s publicly expressed a desire for the role, there will be reservations about giving it to her on a full-time basis. When she captained England in Knight’s absence in the Commonwealth Games in 2022, there were times in the field when she looked lost. That was similar to when she took charge during the disastrous capitulation to the West Indies in last year's T20 World Cup when Knight was off the field injured. She’s also less than two years younger than Knight, and if England are looking for a clean break in the side’s identity, she’s the continuity candidate.
The other options are also hard to take seriously. Amy Jones looked ineffective as an on-field leader against India in 2022 and is in a similar position to Sciver-Brunt, and while Charlie Dean’s seven games as captain in The Hundred make her one of the most experienced options, her stature as a leader is underdeveloped. Sophie Ecclestone will also be a name floated beyond Sciver-Brunt, but given her conflict with the media during The Ashes, she also seems a flawed choice.
The challenges whoever takes over will face in rebuilding will be compounded by a frantic schedule. England will face India this summer, before heading out to the subcontinent for a 50-over World Cup early in the winter. That marks the start of the countdown to a T20 World Cup on home soil just over a year from now. Navigating those waters is a monumental task that, regardless of how flawed the options are, someone has to do.
Removing Lewis and Knight was the easy part, now comes the real predicament.
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