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Charlotte Edwards says there was no doubt over Heather Knight’s place in England’s World Cup side as the former captain returned to form in the third T20 series win against India.
Knight, 35, made an unbeaten 70 as England followed up their 181-run series with a 2-1 win.
In the previous five T20s against New Zealand and India, The main cause for concern was Knight’s strike-rate. She scored 19 (17), 25 (23), 18 (22), 21 (24) and 18 (14).
But when the pressure was on in the series decider, Knight, England’s top women’s cricketer last month, was in fine form with 10 fours in her 42-ball spell.
“It’s been interesting listening to some of the press this week,” head coach Edwards told BBC Sport.
“The more people write her off, the more I think I know she’s going to put on a show like this.
“I spoke to her after her record game (at Chelmsford) about her character and how it’s one of her biggest attributes and we saw a lot of it tonight.
“It was fantastic for her to take that performance into the World Cup, but there were no doubts about Heather in our dressing room.”
Knight added 137 for the fourth wicket in a faultless stand of 81 off 43 from Alice Capsey. The pair toyed with India’s wilting bowlers throughout, with Knight winning a reverse sweep and scoring behind square before Kapisi hit it beautifully down the ground.
It’s easy to forget that Kapse burst onto the English cricket scene at a young age of just 21, a knock that secured her place in Edwards’ starting XI for the World Cup opener against Sri Lanka on June 12.
Edwards said it was the best she’s seen Capsey play and praised her work ethic during the winter.
“To play the way she did from that position (38-3), I couldn’t be more proud,” Edwards added.
“We talked to her at the beginning of the summer about the areas we wanted her to work on and she worked really hard. Now she’s reaping the rewards and there’s nothing more satisfying than winning a game of cricket for England like that.”
