Knight: We won’t crumble under pressure again

ENGLAND captain Heather Knight says her side are embracing the ‘added nerves’ which come with a World Cup semi-final against South Africa. The hosts topped the eight-team group to seal a fourth match at Bristol today against the Proteas. And 26-year-old Knight said: ‘We’re quite relaxed and the girls have been going about their business with purpose. ‘There will be added nerves because it’s a semi-final but we wouldn’t be human if that wasn’t the case.’ England’s disappointing semi-final defeat by Australia in last year’s World Twenty20 brought about a sea change, with skipper Charlotte Edwards retiring after coach Mark Robinson decided he wanted a different leader. Robinson also brought in opener Tammy Beaumont — the leading run scorer in this tournament with 372 — and spinner Alex Hartley. And Knight feels the team have learnt the lessons of that devastating last-four defeat by the Aussies. ‘A lot of the things we’ve done in the last 18 months have been because of that semi-final,’ she said. ‘We’ve worked on being better prepared to cope with pressure if we were to get into that position again. ‘As individuals we’ve done a lot of work on how we tick. We’ve made it normal to feel pressure and that will serve us well against South Africa.’

ENGLAND (probable): Winfield, Beaumont, Taylor (wkt), Knight (capt), Sciver, Wilson, Brunt, Hazell, Marsh, Shrubsole, Hartley. SOUTH AFRICA (probable): Wolvaardt, Lee, Chetty (wkt), Du Preez, Kapp, Tyron, Luus, Van Niekerk (capt), Ismail, Khaka, Klass. Umpires: Gregory Brathwaite (WI), Paul Wilson (Aus).