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ICC WOMEN'S WORLD T20

November 18, 2018

Heather Knight

Gros Islet, Saint Lucia

West Indies - 117/6, England - 115/8

Q. That was a tight, exciting game, just on the wrong end of it. Where do you think England didn't quite come up?
HEATHER KNIGHT: It was a great game of cricket, wasn't it? I thought the fight we showed to stay in that game was great and to set a target that was defendable. And the fight we should out there to actually get it close was brilliant.

In terms of what went wrong, I guess, ideally you want one of the top five to be there in the last two or three overs. That's where you're going to start to push it forward and get those really big scores.

And the fielding, I think, a little bit more composure potentially would have got us over the line. But like I say, I can't question the girls' fight and actually to stay in the game like that under that sort of pressure, the crowd and the support for the West Indies was really pleasing.

Q. Sophie Dunkley, quite a time for her to have to come in for her first international innings, to bat, her contribution there, thinking about it as a whole?
HEATHER KNIGHT: Yeah, really pleased for her. Her and Anya had a great partnership. I think a record, what, seventh cricket partnership for England. It was brilliant. She's obviously had to wait three games to get out there and get the bat in hand. And I think she's been itching at the bit to do that.

And the way she played, she hits very unusual areas as a cricketer. She's very hard to set fields to, having captained against her previously.

So to show that composure under that amount of pressure, in front of that sort of amount of people, 10,000 people, whatever it was. So really pleased for her. She's worked so hard. I think having Anya out there to keep her calm and very relaxed. And seeing Anya's batting as well was a real talking point.

Q. You mentioned that the fielding kind of went a little bit awry at times. How did you deal with that as captain? Were you saying to people to calm down?
HEATHER KNIGHT: I wouldn't say it went awry. I think it's very difficult conditions. Those balls actually went very high with the lights. And fielding under the dark sky as well we haven't done well in this competition yet.

I think a little more composure, just more staying calm in that sort of situation, that would have got it over the line. But obviously we have the semifinals to make that right. And a massive game it's going to be against India. One we're really looking forward to.

Q. Is there any sense of relief not to face Australia in the semifinal?
HEATHER KNIGHT: Not at all. You can see from the disappointment on our faces from losing that game, we were obviously desperate to win. You want to take as much momentum as you can into those semifinals. I think we've been playing very good cricket as well. Whoever we play, whoever we face in the semifinal, we'll have to play very well to beat. No, I don't really mind who we're playing. But, yeah, we've got a few things we need to sharpen up on and obviously that massive game, we're going to prepare as well as we can to face India.

Q. Notice that Kirstie Gordon went off the field after she bowled her allocation of overs. Is she okay?
HEATHER KNIGHT: Yeah, she's fine. She had a back twinge. She was actually struggling to finish that final over, just a little bit of back twinge going on, hamstrings. Yeah, decision to take her off. She obviously bowled very well. But she was in a lot of pain in the last few balls of the over.

Q. Your previous two innings were wins by quite comfortable margins. How important is it for you guys that you played a tight ends match, going and testing yourself in that kind of situation before going into the semifinal?
HEATHER KNIGHT: I think it's a great experience for the girls. For some of the younger girls that haven't played in front of that sort of crowd, that sort of pressure and the atmosphere that it had, it will be great for them. It's a brilliant learning, I think. And what an amazing occasion it was.

But to have a tight game like that and to see how we fought, how we stayed in the game, how we scrapped, that's what the team is about. And that's all I can ask for the girls. A little bit more sort of skill and composure we would have got over the line. Really pleasing, obviously, going into the semifinal.

Q. What do you think would have been from the England point of view a reasonable score for the West Indies to chase? 130? 140? 150?
HEATHER KNIGHT: I think we were in the game with the score we got. I think ideally we would sort of have another 10, 15 runs and it probably potentially would have been out of the West Indies reach, would have made it a lost closer. Yeah, and few more, one of the top five, if they bat through, then that's going to get us up to that title.

But on that wicket, it was quite tricky to bat. It was quite up and down a few times, some sort of skidded on. It wasn't the easiest wicket to get a big score. But I think another 10, 15 runs would have been about par.

Q. Do you think it will be an unfair headline in some of the British press tomorrow if they suggest that England threw away their chances, poor catching, slippery fingers? Are you taking your chances?
HEATHER KNIGHT: No, it's pretty obvious we dropped a few out there. But it wasn't easy conditions. The balls that were dropped obviously weren't very high. Not making excuses. We need to take those in the semifinal if we're going to progress. Having a little bit more composure, sort of being really calm in that situation. But I think hopefully the headlines will be how hard we fought and what a great game of cricket that we made it.

Q. Apart from the difficult conditions, the lighting and that, how important was the crowd as a factor?
HEATHER KNIGHT: Yes, it's obviously hard when you've got two people going for captain and the crowd is so loud you can't call for it. I think it was a brilliant atmosphere. The sort of crowd, the sort of noise you want to play cricket under as a professional cricketer.

Obviously the support was there for the West Indies. And I think it's brilliant that so many people have come out and support, and it's made it sort of a carnival atmosphere and a really enjoyable one.

Q. A shout out for Anya Shrubsole, who has always gone without comment, despite taking, what, five wickets, and about seven balls across the last two matches. And then getting those runs as well. How important is her spirit to what you're trying to do as a team and how much do you want to see everybody else replicate that kind of thing?
HEATHER KNIGHT: I think Anya will be pretty happy to go under the radar. She's a very humble individual that just goes about her business. But she's been outstanding for us this trip, the way she's swung out front. Obviously you saw how fast she was in the first day, taking those first two wickets putting the West Indies on their backs straightaway, and the lengths she's bowled on these wickets has been brilliant. She's adapted her game outstandingly. I love watching her bat as well.

She's been a great cog for us obviously in the team and the way she goes about things and the sort of calming influence she has. Yeah, may that continue into the semis.

Q. Dani Hazell was back into the side today. She went for quite a few runs in her first couple of overs. You went with her as a bowling option. Can you talk us through that decision?
HEATHER KNIGHT: Yeah. Obviously Dani was in as a specialist bowler. She actually bowled a little bit too far at the start, you saw she took the pace off a little bit in the last overs and looked a lot harder to hit.

I think she was a little bit unlucky as well. There was a few that went over fielders' heads that obviously Deandra got out of. She's a very good player, very dangerous player. It's always hard when you spin the ball into her arc a little bit. But it's Dani's first trip. But I'm sure she'll assess her performance and there are some things she could have done better.

Q. West Indies built their innings around the top three, the most experienced batters and the most successful. But then Campbelle, No. 4, she's been around for a while. I know you would have known her from before. When she got in, what were you thinking? Were you thinking she's the kind of player that can take it pass the way she plays, were you thinking along that line?
HEATHER KNIGHT: Yeah, we obviously did our homework on the team we're going to play. We knew about Campbelle and had plans against her.

She obviously hasn't batted too much in this tournament. But I've played against her a lot previously. And her game, I thought she batted quite well, quite sensibly. In terms of when she chose to attack and chose to defend. And unfortunately we couldn't sort of crack that partnership. That was the real key. I think if we had broken that Dottin/Campbelle partnership a little bit earlier we would have hopefully been able to break the door down. It was quite hard wicket to come in and score quickly on it. Once you got used to the pace, it was a little bit variable bounce, it was a little easier as a batter. I thought she batted well and was obviously key to them winning.

Q. A bit on Dunkley, a very young player who you've played against, hits it in awkward areas. What do you think deep down about her role in tonight's game and then taking it forward to the semifinals?
HEATHER KNIGHT: Yeah, she comes in at that No. 7, and it's quite a tricky place to bat, I think. You either come in when the team's in trouble like she did tonight, or you come in with not many balls left and you obviously want to score very quickly. That's why we've put her in that role. She scores quickly. She hits in unusual areas.

She can clear the ropes, as obviously you saw tonight as well. I'm really pleased for her. And for her going into a semifinal, it's great that she's had a hit out and she can take some real confidence in terms of the way she played.

Q. We're into the semifinals in Antigua. We hope to have the same kind of crowds, you're hoping to have the same kind of crowds. What message, what appeal do you like to make to the Antiguan public, because this is your tournament. Four teams are in the semifinals. What do you say to the Antiguan public?
HEATHER KNIGHT: I think ask any of the people that have come tonight, in terms of how much they've enjoyed themselves. I think it's been so busy because sort of word's got around, and all the staff at our hotel have been asking for tickets and saying they've really enjoyed watching the women play. Hopefully it will be the same in Antigua. Hopefully the word will get around and there will be a few in hopefully for those two semis.

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