Women’s World T20: Knight calls for composure
Heather Knight has called for more composure from her players when England take on India in the World T20 semi-final on Friday.
England lost their final group match against champions West Indies after a disappointing display that saw them muster just 115-8 batting first, before dropped catches stunted hopes of a comeback in the field, with Stafanie Taylor’s team winning by fur wickets with three balls to spare.
“In terms of what went wrong, I guess, ideally you want one of the top five to be there in the last two or three overs,” the captain said after her team found themselves 50-6 in the 11th over.
“That’s where you’re going to start to push it forward and get those really big scores. I think a little more composure, just more staying calm in that sort of situation, that would have got it over the line. But obviously we have the semi-finals to make that right. And a massive game it’s going to be against India.”
By winning the game, West Indies set up a semi-final against three-times champions Australia on Thursday, while England face Harmanpreet Kaur’s in-form side the following day.
“And the fielding, I think, a little bit more composure potentially would have got us over the line,” Knight said. “But like I say, I can’t question the girls’ fight and actually to stay in the game like that under that sort of pressure, the crowd and the support for the West Indies was really pleasing. I think it’s very difficult conditions. Those balls actually went very high with the lights. And fielding under the dark sky as well we haven’t done well in this competition yet.
“I think it’s a great experience for the girls. For some of the younger girls that haven’t played in front of that sort of crowd, that sort of pressure and the atmosphere that it had, it will be great for them. It’s a brilliant learning, I think. And what an amazing occasion it was.
“But to have a tight game like that and to see how we fought, how we stayed in the game, how we scrapped, that’s what the team is about. And that’s all I can ask for the girls.”
