After almost a decade leading the English women’s team, Heather Knight stepped down from the captaincy duties following their recent Ashes drubbing, where they were whitewashed in Australia.
Knight ends her captaincy stint with 199 matches, leading England since 2016, and her greatest achievement as captain remains leading England to a World Cup win in 2017, over India, at home.
She led England in 8 Test matches, 94 WODIs and 96 T20Is and leaves with 135 wins from 199 games. She enjoyed a 67%-win percentage and steps down as England’s most successful women’s captain. Her individual numbers as a captain also are outstanding, averaging just under 58 in Tests and 37.10 in ODIs and 30.19 in T20Is.
Knight had taken over from Charlotte Edwards in June 2016. Following the World Cup win at home, Knight’s next biggest test came at the 2017-18 Ashes, Down Under. England drew the multi-format Ashes 8-8, going down in the ODIs series but managed to win the T20Is.
Knight then led England to a second-place finish at the Women’s T20 World Cup 2018, going down to arch-rivals Australia in the final, denying Knight a chance to win back-to-back ICC World Cups.
Knight suffered a first big loss as captain the following year, when England were beaten 4-12 in the home Ashes, unable to win either of the Test, ODI and T20I series. Knight’s next big appointment was the Women’s T20 World Cup 2020, with England looking to go one-better after finishing runners up in the edition before, they unfortunately were knocked out in the semi-finals with rain washing away the game, and India advanced due to finishing higher in the Group.
Knight though had a good World Cup personally, with her 100 against Thailand in the World Cup making her the first-ever women’s cricketer to score a century in all formats of the game. Knight also became the first-ever English cricketer to achieve the feat.
As a captain though, Knight’s girls continued to suffer, going down 4-12 in their home Ashes series before they headed into the Women’s World Cup 2022. England started their World Cup 2022 campaign with three back-to-back losses before Knight herself led the way against India to get England on the winning track.
They finished the Group Stages with four wins on the trot to make the semi-finals against South Africa, where they comprehensively won by 137 runs. They went down to Australia in the final yet again. Knight, herself didn’t find much success, scoring only 206 runs at an average of 29.42.
Knight missed the Commonwealth Games in 2022 due to a hip injury and was back to captain England at the top level at the T20 World Cup 2023. England went flawless in the Group Stages but choked in the semi-final against South Africa, to exit in the semi-finals. Nonetheless, the 2023 Ashes turned out to be memorable, though not initially as England trailed 0-6, but staged a remarkable turnaround to draw the series 8-8.
Knight’s subsequent campaigns, both the 2024 T20 World Cup and 2025 Ashes were poor outings with England suffering a group stage exit at the T20 World Cup and a 0-16 whitewash to Australia.
Heather Knight’s tenure as captain of England was truly remarkable. Under her leadership, England experienced significant growth in both team performance and the visibility of women’s cricket. Her ability to lead by example, often delivering crucial performances with the bat, solidified her reputation as one of the most influential captains in women’s cricket history. As she stepped down, teammates, media personalities and former players reflected on her tenure with immense respect.
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