Knight’s 49 off 44 balls at Edgbaston last week was instrumental in rescuing her team from an ignominious 11 for 4 balls in the first T20I, but she did not help England post competitive totals in each match. He said he gained great confidence in many ways. A series of cameos led to a 65-run win at Northampton and Danni Wyatt’s 48-ball 87 took them to a series-high 176 at Headingley.
“Those three innings were quite different, weren’t they?” Knight said on the eve of the ODI. “I was really pleased that we put up a pretty good total each time. It’s really important to know different ways to score. That’s a good sign, and I think that’s our real strength, our depth is our strength.” I think it’s a blow.”
In particular, she acknowledged the way the team embraced the slower pace of Pakistan’s bowlers, whose nagging accuracy combined with some slower surfaces made it difficult for England’s batsmen to line them up. Ahead of the T20 World Cup in Bangladesh, Knight said it was all valuable experience for the team to raise funds.
“The response from the top teams in the first game was really good. They worked a little harder on how they were going to be aggressive,” she said. “I think it’s a really good learning experience for us about how to approach the bowlers on potentially slower wickets because you have to find a way to do it and it’s going to be a little bit different for every player.
“As a team we always want to be positive,” she added. “As batsmen, our goal is to be aggressive when we can, but in ODI cricket you have a little more time to read the situation and react to the ebbs and flows of the game. There’s obviously a lot of space to be aggressive. That’s really It’s important, but we’ve got to be a little bit more calculated in terms of when we choose to be aggressive and when we have to absorb some pressure, but I’m really excited to see where we go.”
“I think Maia has earned her place in the T20 squad and deserves a bit of performance following her performance in New Zealand,” Knight said. “But in terms of ODIs, Tammy is one of the best openers we’ve had, so we’re really excited to have her back and I know she’s keen to keep improving and keen to keep getting better, which is really good. “Recruit a player of the same level as her.”
Knight, who is making a strong case for a recall with her form for South East Stars despite Sophia Dunkley currently being sidelined, admitted there was a “huge amount of competition” at the top of the England batting order. It’s about pushing those guys to keep getting better.”
Capsey has endured some tricky games of late, having eclipsed the 25-point mark only once since March. The innings of 31 in the second T20I was also a back-to-back match, with five boundaries in one over and very little in the remaining 33 innings. -Ball innings. Despite this, she won the Player of the Match award after taking two important wickets off-spin, and Knight said her ambition to become a true all-rounder would only increase her value to her team.
“This shows the contrast in the amount of T20 cricket being played by young players as opposed to one-day cricket at the moment,” Knight said. “Alice is still working on her desired tempo. She has had success dominating the power play and performs well in that role in franchise leagues around the world, but it’s about expanding her game and learning how to adapt to different situations. She is still 19 years old so the time and amount of cricket she plays will come accordingly.
“Alice wants to be a real all-rounder. She is working really hard on her off-spin, so it gives her another option. As well as being a top-six batsman, she could potentially play as an all-rounder at seven. “I think she can play consistently in the one-day team.”
Another dilemma for Knight could be the balance of his spin attack. All three – Sophie Ecclestone, Charlie Dean and Sarah Glenn – are currently fixtures in the T20I side and each currently occupy a top five spot in the ICC rankings. However, one of the trio may have to sit out as there is a possibility of having to play another seammer while maintaining England’s batting order.
“There’s obviously a bit of a different balance with Nat not bowling,” Knight said. “Our three spinners have been a huge help to us and it can be really difficult to fit them into the one-day squad – something we haven’t really done before – so it’s very difficult to leave one of them behind.
“They all add something different – Sarah’s consistency, Charlie has the best batting rate in one-day cricket at the moment and Soph is the best in the world. We’re looking at how we can put pressure on them. Strike a balance in terms of their batting being good enough. .”
England’s main focus is the T20 World Cup in October, but Knight is mindful that an ODI version is also looming in 2025. But that’s a challenge for another day.
“The international calendar is such that there’s always a big tournament not too far away,” she said. “For me, it’s important to improve as a team, whether it’s the T20 format or the one-day format, and each player needs to be very clear about what exactly they need to do better.
“I want us to focus on what we are doing now. What we are facing is Pakistan. We are trying to do our best against them and ultimately win the series and win ruthlessly.”
Andrew Miller is ESPNcricinfo’s UK editor. @Miller_Cricket
