Knight aims to be quick off the mark at T20 World Cup

HEATHER KNIGHT says England women are aiming to fly out of the blocks in their T20 World Cup opener against the West Indies today in a bid to avoid the desperation of the previous tournament.

They reached the 50-over World Cup final in 2020, but only after losing their first three games to put them on the cusp of getting knocked out in the group stages.

In the T20 version there are even fewer chances to slip up, with just four group matches followed by a semi-final and final in South Africa.

Knight, above, is in no doubt that her team need to start firing from the first ball in Paarl.

“You don’t have a lot of time to make any slip-ups,” said the captain. “It’s been a key focus for us.

“We want to start fast, hit the ground running and almost go over the top in how we want to do things and our mentality.We’ve certainly talked about having a clear plan in how we want to do things and being really brave with it.”

Young batting star Alice Capsey has been passed fit to play after a shoulder injury, while Knight is good to go after needing six stitches when she took a ball to the mouth while fielding in a warm-up.

A big performance from anyone could also have an impact on their value in the first Women’s Premier League draft on Monday, with England coach Jon Lewis confirmed as UP Warriorz head coach.

“It’s on everyone’s minds, the draft is going to be during our second game against Ireland,” Knight said.

“We had a chat about it and it doesn’t need to be an elephant in the room. It’s really positive for the game.”