England grateful for their shining Knight
Stands alone with brilliant unbeaten century hails batter’s ‘fighting spirit’ as Australia take charge
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It was an all-too-familiar sight for an England team in Australia this winter as, once again, a lone vigil at the crease by their captain was the only thing standing in the way of another defeat.
Heather Knight hit a brilliant, and unbeaten, century and was the only batter who passed 50 – a stark contrast to the four half-centuries from Australia and the reason England found themselves 102 runs behind and just two wickets in hand after day two of the Test. That England even avoided the follow-on was down almost entirely to the temperament and skill shown by Knight.
“Massive, massive, beyond a shadow of a doubt,” Katherine Brunt said of the importance of Knight’s innings. “She’s got a lot of fighting spirit. She is 100 per cent a leader. If you want to lead by example, that’s how you do it.
“There’s a bit more in that pitch,” Brunt added, comparing this century to Knight’s one other, in 2013. “Equally, both brilliant, both in really tough situations but that’s what she’s made for.
“We all believe that she can do it; she does, Australia do and she’s that level of batsman, that’s what she’s there to do. Unfortunately, no one was there to back her up.”
Only one of Knight’s team-mates managed to make more than 20 on day two – Sophie Ecclestone, unbeaten on 27 at No10. However, Knight’s knock was more remarkable still because of the circumstances leading up to this Test and the burden that this placed on her, as captain. There was the cancelled Pakistan tour, four months without competitive cricket and three weeks of self-imposed isolation as the omicron Covid-19 variant reared its head. Then there were the hastily rearranged Ashes fixtures and the biosecure protocols, which were strengthened while England were on the flight to Australia.
It is perhaps lazy to compare Knight to a male cricketer, but the ability of Knight and Joe Root to detach the weight of captaincy from their stay at the crease is a sweet and rare one.
Brunt’s five-wicket haul started the morning for the visitors so strongly that it made what followed all the more disappointing. Brunt, approaching two decades in an England shirt but playing in just her 14th Test, picked off two wickets before we had even had half an hour of play, hastening an Australian declaration on 337 for nine. The grey skies soon cleared, the pitch remained a good one and Australia were without some of their firstchoice bowlers. The stage was set.
Unfortunately for England, only one actor was prepared to take to it. England lost wickets in clumps, the first three falling for 46, followed by the next three for 41. Ecclestone provided the only modicum of support, her ninth-wicket partnership with Knight worth 66 by the close.
While we lament the dearth of domestic red-ball cricket available to England men’s Test cricketers, the women have even less, in fact none. That opener Lauren Winfieldhill played early on at a ball that she did not need to, is not surprising, nor perhaps that England’s middle order each played themselves in, before promptly playing themselves out. However, for all the excuses, Australia’s women also do not play long-format cricket below international level.
Whether it be preparation, mindset or that their domestic cricket is simply more developed, Australia held on to their catches, were aggressive in the field and more resolute in defence. There is a discipline here, which England, bar Knight, lack. Australia are playing at another level and, although Knight is on one more still, cricket is a team sport and her team-mates, with the bat, are nowhere to be found.