England Captain Heather Knight Wants Aggressive England To Prosper At Commonwealth Games
England captain Heather Knight wants aggressive England to prosper at the Commonwealth Games, looking to use the upcoming Commonwealth Games on home soil to showcase cricket at the highest level in front of new audiences.
Return to Commonwealth Games for the first time:-
Cricket will return to the Commonwealth Games for the first time in 24 years and it will be the second time that Knight and England will compete in an eight-team women’s tournament starting in Birmingham later this month.
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England will be among those to claim gold in the 10-day competition, with the ever-powerful Australia and India being considered among other medalists.
And Knight’s goal will be to ensure that the level of play is exciting to everyone so that cricket can reach new audiences who have not enjoyed cricket in the past.
Opportunity to reach certain people as a sport:-
“The Commonwealth is an opportunity for us as a sport to reach some people we haven’t reached before,” Knight told the BBC.
“It’s huge how much women’s cricket has changed and it could be another game changer in terms of reaching new people.”
England have named a young 15-player for the tournament. With veteran opener Tammy Beaumont ousted for his country despite a decent record against the white ball.
Noting Beaumont’s class, Knight said the decision to drop. The 31-year-old from the Commonwealth Games squad was made purely to take a more aggressive stance at the top-order.
“Tammy’s ODI form is undeniable,” said Knight:-
“She’s one of the best players in the world and has been for a long time. And she wanted to prove a point.
“We felt we wanted to be more aggressive in the powerplays in T20s. And we think we have brought in players who can bring that fearlessness, that aggression into the team.”
England have entered Group B at the Commonwealth Games. With their first match against Sri Lanka at Edgbaston on 30 July.