We won World Cup ...and then I threw up on a Mercedes!
Changing opinions of women’s cricket isn’t all plain sailing, says England captain Knight
HEATHER KNIGHT’S reflections on a year that has changed her life are a mixture of the sublime and the ridiculous.
She is a World Cup-winning captain who, moments after lifting the trophy last summer, dashed out of Lord’s and vomited on a Mercedes. She isn’t madly keen on the limelight but was recently recognised in her underwear by a fellow gym bunny and her best friend once stole her kit, went down the pub, and signed autographs on her behalf.
Knight doesn’t take herself too seriously, which is part of her charm. It may also help explain her success.
The rise and rise of the women’s game is etched indelibly on cricket’s timeline now, a tale of pride and prejudice which both enriches the sport and — having taken so long — shames it. Sitting in a coffee shop in St John’s Wood, around the corner from the scene of the triumph, Knight is calmly aware that the story cannot stop. There is work to be done. The prospect is daunting.
‘When you win the World Cup on home soil and sell out Lord’s with millions of people watching at home... I remember thinking, in the weeks afterwards, is it going to get any better than this?’ she says.
‘But the goalposts are always moving in sport and you have to reassess. Winning after winning is the hardest thing. How do you motivate the squad again?’
The baubles might have proved distracting. Knight’s World Cup winners were Team of the Year at the BBC Sports Personality awards in December and this month, along with seamer Anya Shrubsole and all-rounder Nat Sciver, she was named among Wisden’s five Cricketers of the Year.
That took the tally of female recipients to five out of 595 since the award was first handed out in 1889. ‘To have three in one go was a lovely touch,’ she says.
While Knight cheerily agrees there has never been a better time to be a British sportswoman, she also understands not everyone agrees.
‘ Twitter’s not always the best barometer, but you get the odd comment. Luckily they are more few and far between than they used to be. Hopefully there’ll be a time when you don’t get those comments,’ says Knight, who felt attitudes change during the World Cup.
‘We sensed the moment um get bigger and bigger. After the semifinal, we were told the final was sold out. We couldn’t believe it.
‘My dad says that, judging by how many people told him they were there, Lord’s must be bigger than 26,000. It was a very special day and you hope it’s a springboard to what could happen.’ What has happened since is a reminder that not all curves are relentlessly upward. England subsequently travelled to Australia — ‘with a little bit of fatigue’, says Knight — and failed to regain the Ashes. Recently they lost again to Australia, in the final of a triangular T20 tournament, then lost a 50-over series 2-1 to India. When the World T20 starts in November, Australia will be favourites. Knight’s philosophy is to challenge her team to make daily improvements; the results should look after themselves. Coach Mark Robinson flags up records that need breaking and ensures the players know about i mpending milestones. The captain herself knows she needs to improve but she is enjoying the ride. But what about the Mercedes?
Knight chuckles. ‘I’m pretty sure it was some dodgy chicken, either the night before or at Lord’s itself. I’d literally had a beer and a half, and started to feel quite ill during the celebrations.
‘St John’s Wood is quite posh, and I was still in my kit. I didn’t want anyone to see me, because they’d think I’d enjoyed myself a bit too much, too quickly. So I ran round the side of the dressing-room and was pretty much sick on a Merc.’
Other memories are less stomachchurning. ‘A group of my uni mates came and watched the final. They didn’t tell me, but they were wearing Heather Knight masks.
‘They weren’t really into cricket before but they had a brilliant day at Lord’s. One of them said it was the best day of her life. So it was lovely to share it with them. Now they’ve taken an active interest in cricket.’
It is a tale of our times. The task for Knight and her team-mates is to ensure it is not a one-off.