Heather Knight believes England achieved their objective of entertaining and inspiring despite her side losing the sole Women’s Ashes Test Match at Trent Bridge.
The Three Lions fell to an 89-run defeat at the hands of Australia, who took a 4-0 lead in the multi-format series as a result.
Six limited-overs fixtures remain, with the hosts needing to win five of those, each worth two points for a win, to regain The Ashes.
The England captain was optimistic, however, reflecting on how she felt her side fared against a strong Southern Stars outfit.
“There is disappointment but I'm also really proud of how the girls have gone about these five days,” she said.
“It has been a very entertaining Test Match. Although we are on the losing side, I think the fact that we have had five days has led to the great cricket that we have had.
“I am also proud of how we set out to try to entertain and inspire. That spell that Lauren [Filer] bowled before Lunch on day four, I just had a little moment to look around at the crowd getting really engaged, and at that moment I just wanted to bottle the feeling.
“That was awesome. That is what we want to do as a team - get people watching Test cricket and excited about women’s cricket. That moment made me realise we’d done our job.”
23,207 people watched history unfold across the five days of the fixture, a new record attendance for Women’s Test cricket.
Knight believes the five-day fixture, and the resultant expectation of a result, only added to the sense of occasion.
“If that game was four days, it probably would have petered out and not been as entertaining as it was,” she said.
“I don't know whose decision it is, but the fact we’ve been able to see Tammy [Beaumont] get 200, [Annabel] Sutherland get 100 batting at eight, Sophie [Ecclestone] get two fiver-fers and Ash [Gardner] get eight-fer, they are really truly special performances that we potentially might not have seen if it wasn’t over five days.
“If you play four, you have to manufacture a result and I don’t think the game gets the credit it deserves if that happens. I would love to see five days moving forwards but that’s above my head.”
Knight also reserved praise for Trent Bridge, hosting its first Women’s Test since 1979.
The record-breaking exploits of the names mentioned by the England skipper have been added to an honours board in the Pavilion’s Long Room, ensuring this fixture maintains its place in the history books.
“I think it is an iconic ground in this country, and the girls were certainly aware of that before we came,” she said.
“Hearing the crowd was a special part of this Test Match and having them behind us throughout the five days was special.
“There has been a lot of history here, and we are delighted to bring our own slice of history to this ground.”
*******
