Born 26 December 1990 in Rochdale, Lancashire, former England Test, ODI and T20 captain, Heather Knight.
Making her debut in the fifth ODI against India in March 2010 at Bandra Kurla Complex, Mumbai, Knight was replacing an injured Charlotte Edwards, the England captain. Now there’s some shoes to fill! Batting at the top of the order, she top scored for England with 49 as England narrowly defeated the home team by two wickets. This wonderful career was on its way.
Knight has now played 157 ODIs and is still going. Previously the leader of the team, her high point must be lifting the World Cup in 2017 where England snatched victory from the jaws of defeat. She has scored 4325 runs at 35.74 with a high score of 109. Combine that with 56 wickets at 24.91 with a best of 5-26.
Heather’s T20 debut came in November 2010 against Sri Lanka at Colombo where she batted at nine. In her second match she batted at number eleven but didn’t get a hit. Hard to imagine that. Following that lacklustre start she has scored 2331 runs at a strike rate of 121.46 and a high score of 108 not out. With the ball, 21 wickets at 27.19.
A player with good technique, Knight can also play the modern shots and makes the reverse sweep look like a normal cricket stroke. When she plays that shot it is risk free and nobody plays it better.
Her Test debut was against Australia at Bankstown in 2010/11. In total she has played 14 Tests with a high score of 168* against Australia in January 2022. She is closing in on 1000 Test runs, currently 970.