Heather Knight reflects on England’s T20 World Cup exit ahead of South Africa series: ‘Important we don’t rip up trees’

Captain Heather Knight says England “are not completely lost without me” following a dismal T20 World Cup exit last month when she was off the field injured.

Knight hobbled off with a calf problem during her side’s final group game against the West Indies in the UAE and then watched on from the dugout as Nat Sciver-Brunt skippered the side and five dropped catches helped England’s opponents canter to an eight-wicket win.

Head coach Jon Lewis has said since that tournament-ending defeat that the team have “some work to do around developing the next group of leaders”.

Knight – speaking ahead of Sunday’s first T20 international in South Africa, live on Sky Sports Cricket from 12pm – told reporters: “There are a huge amount of leaders in this group. I think that spell [against West Indies] is an unfair representation of the leaders we have.

“I really do feel the likes of Nat [Sciver-Brunt], Amy [Jones], Sophie [Ecclestone], have grown into that role of senior players.

“I am still enjoying leading the group and part of that role is to grow people around me and develop these younger players where they can almost lead themselves. That is a focus for me.

“I don’t think the team is completely lost without me. I don’t think that’s the case, that is not the narrative I completely agree with. But there is room for growth, for sure.

“It did feel like we took a backward step when West Indies came hard against us and we didn’t react exactly how we wanted to. [We want to go back] to that really fearless cricket.

“Teams will come hard and it’s about being really calm and solution-focused, hang in there and then be able to throw a few punches back.

Knight: Scrutiny will increase as women’s cricket grows

Ex-England spinner Alex Hartley said the team needed to become fitter as she reacted to their World Cup exit while working for the BBC – an assessment Lewis “100 per cent” disagrees with.

Asked what she made of the criticism her side faced and whether they now have a “point to prove” against South Africa in the three T20s, three ODIs and sole Test match, Knight said: “As the game grows and there are more eyes on us, more reward for being an international cricketer, that scrutiny is going to increase.

“That is a good sign of where things are at.

“In terms of moving on from it, it’s looking at the people around you, being strong in the group, staying tight. The biggest opinions to us are the ones in this circle and the people around us.”

“I guess it’s a good media narrative to write but I don’t think there are a huge amount of points to prove. We learnt a lot from the World Cup and want to show we have improved.

“It’s important to remember we have played some brilliant cricket.

“It is a bit of a bump in the road, one that will keep us humble and motivated to get better and highlighted a few things we need to do a little bit better.

“I think it’s really important we don’t rip up trees because we had a bad 10 overs but we talked as a group and want to use it to learn and grow and do things a little bit better.

“There doesn’t need to be huge change. We have had team get-togethers at the start of this trip about how we get clarity and move on.”

England in South Africa fixtures (all live on Sky Sports)

All times UK and Ireland

T20 series

First T20: Sunday November 24 (12pm, East London)
Second T20: Wednesday November 27 (4pm, Benoni)
Third T20: Saturday November 30 (4pm, Centurion)

ODI series

First ODI: Wednesday December 4 (12pm, Kimberley)
Second ODI: Sunday December 8 (8am, Durban)
Third ODI: Wednesday December 11 (12pm, Potchefstroom)

Test match

One-off Test: Sunday December 15-Wednesday December 18 (8am, Bloemfontein)

Watch England’s all-format tour of South Africa live on Sky Sports Cricket from November 24 until December 18.