Women's Ashes: Frustrated Heather Knight skips handshake with umpire
What's the story
England women's cricket captain, Heather Knight, displayed a rare show of frustration during the second T20I against Australia. The match was abruptly halted due to rain, with England needing just six runs from five balls under the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern (DLS) method. This interruption led to a six-run victory for Australia in Canberra. Knight was seen shaking the hands of Australian skipper Tahlia McGrath. However, she refrained from shaking hands with one of the umpires. Here's more.
Match disruption
Knight's reaction to rain interruption
Knight was at the crease, spearheading England's chase of 186 runs in 20 overs when rain interrupted the match. The sudden halt in play appeared to have irked her as she threw her bat down in disappointment. At that point, England were 168/4 in 19.1 overs, just six runs short of the par score under the DLS method.
Post-match
Knight's performance and post-match conduct
Knight had been on fire, scoring a quickfire 39* off just 18 balls including one maximum and six boundaries, while she remained unbeaten on 43. Meanwhile, her boundary off the first ball of the final over was cut short by the umpires' decision to stop play due to rain. After Australia were declared winners via the DLS method, Knight shook hands with Australian captain McGrath but didn't extend this courtesy to one of the umpires, as mentioned above.
Team spirit
Knight expresses pride in team's performance
Despite the disappointing outcome, Knight was proud of her team's performance. She said, "Great game of cricket. Managed to get that partnership going in the end but unfortunate for it to end that way." She admitted it was difficult to chase down the target but hailed her team's fighting spirit and was confident about carrying this momentum forward.
Numbers
A look at the skipper's performance in the ongoing Ashes
Knight featured in all three ODIs and now the two T20Is. After five matches, she owns 132 runs at 33. Notably, she is the fourth-highest run-scorer so far in the series. As per ESPNcricinfo, Knight boasts a strike rate of 92.95. Her best score is 43*. England Women have suffered defeats in all five matches so far. There are two matches left (one T20I and a one-off Test).
Twitter Post
Twitter Post
We're coming off for rain with five balls left in the game 👀#Ashes pic.twitter.com/X75q9i9OfX
— 7Cricket (@7Cricket) January 23, 2025