SA vs ENG: England’s Heather Knight hopes all batters perform well against SA in semi-finals
England skipper Heather Knight believe it’s the perfect time to change and want all batters to find their form in the semi-final clash against South Africa of the ongoing ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup on Thursday.
The defending champions England faced three defeats in three opening matches,
But they responded with four consecutive victories to book their spot in the semi-finals.
In some matches, most England batters produced significant runs for the team but not at the same time.
“I think it’s great that individuals are stepping up at different times. I think we’ve had each batter win us a game at some point.
But I don’t think we’ve put it all together yet, what a perfect time to change than the World Cup semi-final.
I think the signs are really good,” said England captain Heather Knight.
“I’ve been a bit frustrated. I’ve got a few starts, a couple of 40-odds and I guess a couple of not outs in there as well.
So, I haven’t really been able to make that match-defining contribution I guess but I am feeling pretty good here.
I feel like I’m hitting the ball well and had a really good session today,” said Knight.
The 31-year-old admitted that the slow start in the World Cup gave them perfect knockout preparation for the semi-finals as they have been playing knockout cricket for the last four matches.
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“We’ve been playing knockout cricket for the last four games. So we’re so used to obviously having that pressure on us and if we make one mistake we’re out.
That’s perfect preparation for World Cup semi-final where you know the stakes and you know what’s on the line.
I think it shows a lot about the character in this group after those first three games,” she added.
South Africa was one of the teams to beat England in the group stage by three-wicket in Mount Maunganui.
“We’ve obviously lost three close games and we were very disappointed and frustrated but the way we’ve turned it around, I think has been outstanding.
The way we’ve managed to stay pretty positive, change a few things that were in our control,” said the 31-year-old England captain.
“We’re very good players and I think we’ve just managed to find a way to win again, which has been very nice.
Hopefully, it will give us a lot of confidence going into that semi-final, we feel like we’ve built a bit of momentum up in the last four games.
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And that’s a nice place to be again into the semis,” she added.
