Heather Knight: Power-play overs are important

Heather Knight also says that Wednesday's fixture is another chance for the teams to prepare for the women's T20 World Cup.

Heather Knight in action during the second match of the ongoing women's T20I tri-series in Mumbai.

The women's T20I tri-series featuring India women, Australia women and England women has been largely entertaining with 187 boundaries (164 4s and 23 6s) in the four league matches played so far. Smriti Mandhana has led the way with twenty-three fours and four sixes, followed by England opener Danielle Wyatt with 17 4s and half-a-dozen sixes. The Indian left hander, Smriti, has kept herself busy looking for scoring opportunities and so has been Danielle, who scored her second T20 century against India on Sunday.

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England’s Lancashire-based captain, Heather Knight, who has played 41 matches, scored 426 runs and taken 12 wickets, is not surprised by the big-hitting abilities of the women cricketers. She emphasised that the power-play is an important part of Twenty20.

"The players have been a lot more fearless, skilful, hitting the ball and clearing the in-field and the boundary line. There has been a rule change with only four fiddlers allowed outside the fielding restriction area (30-yard circle) from the seventh over.’’

Having lost all three matches, the home team has been ruled out of the title match, but England, having scored impressive wins against Australia and India, is making the most of the opportunity given by the BCCI to play in the tri-series and is looking forward to gain experience in the three-match ODI series to be played in Nagpur in April.

The ICC’s eight full-member women teams are gearing for the Twenty20 World Cup and Heather was on the spot giving priority to the tournament to be played in the West Indies from November 9 to 24.

England has a 17-11 win advantage Australia in the shortest form of the game and Heather said, "It’s going to be another game on Wednesday in preparation for the World Cup. We only have 6 to 7 Twenty20 games before the competition starts (in the West Indies). For us, it’s all about trying to find that consistency, trying to find our best T20 cricket. We have been successful so far (in the tri-series) and we would like to keep that going. It’s an international match against Australia, it’s never easy and we love playing them.’’