England play their first Test since the 89-run loss to Australia during the Women's Ashes series in the summer when they take on India in Navi Mumbai from Thursday; The tourists secured a 2-1 series win in the T20 leg of the tour and are now aiming to push the multi-day format to the fore
Wednesday 13 December 2023 17:06, UK
Heather Knight hopes England and India can put on a show in Mumbai to push women's Test cricket to the fore.
After winning the three-match T20 series, England's tour of India concludes with a one-off Test match from Thursday - their first since a narrow Ashes loss to Australia in June.
Played over five days rather than the usual four, that contest fully lived up to its billing and England captain Knight admitted her team felt extra pressure because of the paucity of opportunities in the longer format.
"We always feel as players when we play Test cricket that we're fighting for the format a little bit because we don't play a lot of it," Knight said.
"Obviously, we want to make it entertaining and exciting for people to watch because we want Test cricket to carry on.
"I'm super excited to don the whites again. It is really special because we don't play it that often and it's bucket-list stuff to play a Test match in India as a cricketer."
While this is a one-off match, Knight hopes there will be a move towards more multi-format series' like the Ashes, where points are awarded across Test, one day and T20 matches, leading to an overall winner.
"I think the multi-format that we play in the Ashes - and that we've played against India previously - really gives that Test match context in the wider series because, if you play a one-off, it's quite hard to know what it means," Knight said.
"I'd love to see some more multi-format cricket played domestically around the world as programmes professionalise.
"I think [Test cricket] it's really good for skill development as players, but obviously T20 has been the thing that's pushed women's cricket, in particular, forward so you almost don't want to lose that as well. I think it's a really hard balance that the administrators have got to find to incorporate it."
Knight admits the lack of Test experience makes selections and tactics a challenge, but the skipper now feels more comfortable in multi-day cricket than she did earlier in her career.
"It actually makes selections quite hard because you're not going on a lot of information," Knight said. "The Test matches we have played in the last few years, we've learned a lot from, and I think as an individual you learn the ebbs and flows of how you want to go about batting, for example.
"I've learned a lot more in my last three or four Test matches and felt like I've really started to work out a method and know the tempo you want to go at. I think that's the hardest thing.
"Earlier in my career I went too much into my shell and too defensive because I thought that was how you played red-ball cricket, but I think it's all about scoring runs."
A Test match victory in India would certainly be a feather in England's cap, and Knight sees it as the perfect way to finish the tour after the visitors clinched a 2-1 T20 series win thanks to Saturday's four-wicket victory in Mumbai.
"It was so pleasing that T20 series," Knight said.
"The way we played in it, obviously with a T20 World Cup coming up, it feels like we're in a really strong place and are building a bigger squad with competition for places - and also exposing some younger players to conditions they haven't faced too much of.
"Obviously we're going to have to play really well. It's really tough playing cricket out here with the heat, the humidity, the different conditions.
"It would be really satisfying if we can have a really good four days and come out with a big W ready for Christmas back home."
