Going into this T20 World Cup, I’ve never felt more confident: Heather Knight

With the T20 World Cup starting on October 3, England’s captain Heather Knight is optimistic about the country’s performance. Although Knight thinks her team has a good chance of defeating their archrivals, Australia, the defending champions, are still the clear favourites. Knight believes that now is the right moment to rectify the fact that England women haven’t won the coveted trophy in fifteen years.

The England team now has the confidence they need going into the T20 World Cup after they overcame the Alyssa Healy-led team 2-1 in the three-match T20I series. Knight continued, saying that they now have a different mindset and are prepared to perform well under duress.

The Australian squad, who have dominated women’s cricket for the past ten years, is seen differently after the Ashes 2023, according to Heather Knight.

Australia may have had a bit of a hoodoo, but the Ashes last summer broke that. That was, I feel, the point in our team’s development when we felt we were competitive enough to defeat Australia and that we could defeat them. Knight told, “I think that shift in perspective is really important.”

“I feel like I’ve never felt more secure heading into the World Cup. We are organised, comfortable, and have the deepest team we have ever had—but that doesn’t guarantee anything. Any player we include in that 15 feels like they can have an effect on the England team, which is encouraging and moves us closer to our goal. Then it’s just a matter of acting during the crucial times,” she continued.

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In Sharjah, England will play Bangladesh in the opening match of the T20 World Cup. Only two teams would advance to the semi-finals, therefore they would also face West Indies, South Africa, and Scotland in the group round. In the meanwhile, Australia and New Zealand will be England’s warm-up opponents before the T20 World Cup, along with a bilateral series against Ireland.