Heather Knight believes the growth of women’s franchise cricket has played a vital role in helping her England side bridge the gap to world champions Australia.
The Women’s Ashes today continues with the First ODI in Bristol, with England needing to win to keep the series alive but buoyed by having beaten Australia for the first time since 2019 in last week’s Second T20 at the Oval, which they followed up by inflicting the tourists' first back-to-back losses in six years at Lord’s.
This is the first Ashes series to take place since the birth of the Women’s Premier League, the sister tournament of the men’s Indian Premier League, and a number of England stars played key roles in the inaugural edition earlier this year. Spinner Sophie Ecclestone finished as the joint-leading wicket-taker, while Issy Wong and Nat Sciver-Brunt were part of the champion Mumbai Indians side, who beat a Delhi Capitals team featuring teenager Alice Capsey in the final.
“It’s playing in big moments, in front of big crowds,” Knight said.
“As an overseas player, you’re expected to go out and win games of cricket for whichever franchise you’re playing for. That brings added pressure and players being in that situation a lot more is a really useful thing.”
This is also the first home Ashes series played since the launch of the Hundred, the ECB’s flagship domestic competition which will begin its third season next month.
While some facets of the tournament have been criticised, there has been universal praise for its elevation of the women’s game and Knight says England are reaping the rewards now.
“Having that experience regularly for the girls has been huge, and having that domestic set-up that’s a lot higher standard,” she said.
“As an England player, you’re expected to go and perform and I think having that experience had been really beneficial, especially for our younger girls.”
