Heather Clare Knight (born 26 December 1990) is an English

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by st ...

er who is captain of the

England women's cricket team The England women's cricket team represents England and Wales in international women's cricket. Since 1998, they have been governed by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), having been previously governed by the Women's Cricket Associati ...

. She is a right-handed batter and right arm

off spin Off spin is a type of finger spin bowling in cricket. A bowler who uses this technique is called an off spinner. Off spinners are right-handed spin bowlers who use their fingers to spin the ball. Their normal delivery is an off break, which ...

bowler. Knight played in her 100th Women's One Day International match for England in December 2019.

Early life

Knight was born on 26 December 1990 in

Rochdale Rochdale ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, at the foothills of the South Pennines in the dale on the River Roch, northwest of Oldham and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Bor ...

and was educated at

Plymstock School Plymstock School is a state comprehensive secondary school (ages 11–19) in Plymstock, a suburb of Plymouth, Devon, England. It was the first West Devon comprehensive school (built on the core of a post war secondary school) and is now a Speci ...

, a

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

secondary school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to ...

, Devon. She was offered a place at the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

to study

natural sciences Natural science is one of the branches of science concerned with the description, understanding and prediction of natural phenomena, based on empirical evidence from observation and experimentation. Mechanisms such as peer review and repeat ...

, but turned it down so that she would have the time to play cricket. She went on to study

Biomedical Sciences Biomedical sciences are a set of sciences applying portions of natural science or formal science, or both, to develop knowledge, interventions, or technology that are of use in healthcare or public health. Such disciplines as medical microbi ...

Cardiff University , latin_name = , image_name = Shield of the University of Cardiff.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms of Cardiff University , motto = cy, Gwirionedd, Undod a Chytgord , mottoeng = Truth, Unity and Concord , established = 1 ...

Domestic career

Knight played

club cricket Club cricket is a mainly amateur, but still formal, form of the sport of cricket, usually involving teams playing in competitions at weekends or in the evening. There is a great deal of variation in game format although the Laws of Cricket are o ...

for Plymstock Cricket Club in the

Devon Cricket League The Tolchards Devon Cricket League is the top level of competition for recreational club cricket in Devon, England, and the League Headquarters is in Little Torrington, Devon. The league was founded in 1972, and since 2000 it has been a designat ...

. She started attending colts training sessions at 8 years old and progressed through the club's youth system. Knight is a prolific batter at county level, initially for her home county of

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devo ...

and currently for

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Ber ...

. She topped the county run scoring aggregates in both 2008 (390 runs) and 2009 (622). She also played for the

Diamonds Diamond is a solid form of the element carbon with its atoms arranged in a crystal structure called diamond cubic. Another solid form of carbon known as graphite is the chemically stable form of carbon at room temperature and pressure, ...

Sapphires Sapphire is a precious gemstone, a variety of the mineral corundum, consisting of aluminium oxide () with trace amounts of elements such as iron, titanium, chromium, vanadium, or magnesium. The name sapphire is derived via the Latin "sapphi ...

and Emeralds in the Super Fours. Knight captained Western Storm in the now-defunct

Women's Cricket Super League The Women's Cricket Super League (WCSL), known as the Kia Super League (KSL) for sponsorship reasons, was a semi-professional women's Twenty20 cricket competition in England and Wales operated by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB). The comp ...

, leading them to the title in

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a s ...

and

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

. She was the competition's leading run-scorer across its four seasons. She continued to play for Western Storm in the

Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy The Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy is an English women's cricket domestic competition, named after former England captain Rachael Heyhoe Flint, Baroness Heyhoe-Flint, who died in 2017. The first edition of the tournament took place during August ...

in 2020. Knight has played domestically in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

, previously for

Tasmanian Roar The Tasmania Women cricket team, also known as Tasmanian Tigers and previously Tasmanian Roar, is the women's representative cricket team for the Australian State of Tasmania. They play their home games at Blundstone Arena, Hobart. They compete ...

and

Hobart Hurricanes The Hobart Hurricanes are an Australian professional men's T20 franchise cricket team based in Tasmania, Australia. They compete in Australia's domestic T20 cricket competition known as the Big Bash League, which is a league where many int ...

and currently for

Sydney Thunder The Sydney Thunder are an Australian franchise professional cricket team, competing in Australia's domestic Twenty20 cricket competition, the Big Bash League. Along with the Sydney Sixers, the Thunder are the successors of the New South Wal ...

. She won the

Women's Big Bash League The Women's Big Bash League (known as the WBBL and, for sponsorship reasons, the Weber WBBL) is the Australian women's domestic Twenty20 cricket competition. The WBBL replaced the Australian Women's Twenty20 Cup, which ran from the 2007–08 ...

in her first season with the Thunder, top-scoring with 26* in the final. In 2021, she was drafted by

London Spirit London Spirit are a franchise 100-ball cricket side based in North London. The team represents the historic counties of Middlesex, Essex and Northamptonshire in The Hundred, which took place for the first time during the 2021 English and We ...

for the inaugural season of The Hundred. In April 2022, she was bought by the

for the 2022 season of The Hundred.

International career

Knight was called into the England squad on their tour of India in 2010 as a replacement for the injured Sarah Taylor and played in the 5th One Day International on 1 March in

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the secon ...

, opening the batting and scoring 49 on her international debut. She toured

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

with the England team in 2010, making her Twenty20 debut in the 2nd match of the series on 22 November in

Colombo Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo me ...

. She made her test debut in the one-off Ashes test at

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mounta ...

Bankstown Oval Bankstown Oval (officially known as Bankstown Memorial Oval) Bankstown Council Sporting Faciliti ...

in January 2011. She is the holder of one of the first tranche of 18 ECB central contracts for women players, which were announced in April 2014. On 5 June 2016, Knight was appointed captain of the

after

Charlotte Edwards Charlotte Marie Edwards (born 17 December 1979) is an English former cricketer and current cricket coach and commentator. She played primarily as a right-handed batter. She appeared in 23 Test matches, 191 One Day Internationals and 95 Twenty ...

stood down. She also became the first female cricketer to score a fifty and to take a five wicket haul in an ODI innings.

2017 Women's Cricket World Cup

Heather Knight led the England team in her first

Women's Cricket World Cup The ICC Women's Cricket World Cup is the sport's oldest world championship, with the first tournament held in England in 1973. Matches are played as One Day Internationals (ODIs) over 50 overs per team, while there is also another champion ...

as captain, and they won the tournament despite losing to

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

in the opening match. In the second group match against

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

she, along with

Natalie Sciver Natalie Ruth Sciver-Brunt (; ; born 20 August 1992) is an English cricketer. She was the first cricketer for England to take a hat-trick in a Women's Twenty20 International match. The " Natmeg" shot is named after Sciver, from when she has hit ...

, went on to put on a record 3rd-wicket partnership in the history of

(213) as England managed to defeat Pakistan convincingly by 107 runs. In the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of con ...

Lord's Lord's Cricket Ground, commonly known as Lord's, is a cricket venue in St John's Wood, London. Named after its founder, Thomas Lord, it is owned by Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and is the home of Middlesex County Cricket Club, the England ...

Knight led England to a 9 run victory over

.England v India: Women's World Cup final – live!
''The Guardian'', 23 July 2017. Following the team's success, she was awarded an OBE in the Queen's 2018

New Year Honours The New Year Honours is a part of the British honours system, with New Year's Day, 1 January, being marked by naming new members of orders of chivalry and recipients of other official honours. A number of other Commonwealth realms also mark this ...

list. In April 2018 she was named one of the five

Wisden Cricketers of the Year The ''Wisden'' Cricketers of the Year are cricketers selected for the honour by the annual publication '' Wisden Cricketers' Almanack'', based primarily on their "influence on the previous English season". The award began in 1889 with the naming ...

for her part in the 2017 World Cup victory.

2018 World Twenty20 and beyond

2020 ICC W T20 WC E v SA 02-23 Knight (01)

In October 2018, she was named as the captain of England's squad for the

2018 ICC Women's World Twenty20 The 2018 ICC Women's World Twenty20 was the sixth edition of the ICC Women's World Twenty20, hosted in the West Indies from 9 to 24 November 2018. It the second World Twenty20 hosted by the West Indies (after the 2010 edition), and the West In ...

tournament in the West Indies. In February 2019, she was awarded a full central contract by the

England and Wales Cricket Board The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) is the national governing body of cricket in England and Wales. It was formed on 1 January 1997 as a single governing body to combine the roles formerly fulfilled by the Test and County Cricket Board, ...

(ECB) for 2019. In June 2019, the ECB named her in England's squad for their opening match against Australia to contest the

Women's Ashes The Women's Ashes is the perpetual trophy in women's international cricket series between England and Australia. The name derives from the historic precedent of the Ashes in male cricket and, until 2013, was similarly decided exclusively on th ...

. On 12 December 2019, during England's series against Pakistan in Malaysia, Knight became the tenth woman for England to play in 100 WODI matches. In January 2020, Knight was named as the captain of England's squad for the

2020 ICC Women's T20 World Cup The 2020 ICC Women's T20 World Cup was the seventh ICC Women's T20 World Cup tournament. It was held in Australia between 21 February and 8 March 2020. The final took place at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on International Women's Day. Hosts ...

in Australia. In England's second match of the tournament, against

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...

, Knight scored her 1,000th run in WT20Is. She also scored her first century in WT20I cricket, and became the first cricketer to score a century in all three formats of women's international cricket. On 18 June 2020, Knight was named in a squad of 24 players to begin training ahead of international women's fixtures starting in England following the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

. In June 2021, Knight was named as the captain of England's

Test Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to: * Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities Arts and entertainment * ''Test'' (2013 film), an American film * ''Test'' (2014 film), ...

squad for their one-off match against India. On 3 July 2021, in the home series against India, Knight scored her 3,000th run and took her 50th wicket in WODI cricket. In December 2021, Knight was named as the captain of England's squad for their tour to Australia to contest the

. In February 2022, she was named as the captain of England's team for the

2022 Women's Cricket World Cup The 2022 ICC Women's Cricket World Cup was the twelfth edition of the Women's Cricket World Cup, which was held in New Zealand in March and April 2022. It was originally scheduled for 6 February to 7 March 2021 but was postponed by one year due ...

in New Zealand. In July 2022, she was named as the captain of England's team for the cricket tournament at the

2022 Commonwealth Games The 2022 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XXII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Birmingham 2022, was an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth of Nations that took place in Birmingham, England b ...

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the We ...

, England.

International centuries

Overview

Knight was the first woman, and also the first England player, to score an international century in all three formats of the game. Her international centuries are:

Test centuries

One Day International centuries

T20 International centuries

Personal life

Knight's

nickname A nickname is a substitute for the proper name of a familiar person, place or thing. Commonly used to express affection, a form of endearment, and sometimes amusement, it can also be used to express defamation of character. As a concept, it is ...

is "Trev". In 2015, she explained to sports journalist

Clare Balding Clare Victoria Balding (born 29 January 1971) is an English broadcaster, journalist, and author. She currently presents for BBC Sport, Channel 4, BT Sport, is the current president of the Rugby Football League (RFL) and formerly presented the ...

that "When I was about 13 and introduced myself at cricket camp, they thought I said Trevor rather than Heather!" Knight also has a partner, Tim, who is an accountant.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Knight, Heather 1990 births Living people Berkshire women cricketers Devon women cricketers England women Test cricketers England women One Day International cricketers England women Twenty20 International cricketers Hobart Hurricanes (WBBL) cricketers Officers of the Order of the British Empire Tasmanian Tigers (women's cricket) cricketers Western Storm cricketers Wisden Cricketers of the Year Sydney Thunder (WBBL) cricketers London Spirit cricketers Cricketers at the 2022 Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games competitors for England