Heather Knight has left her role as captain of the England women’s cricket team after nearly nine years, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) announced on Saturday.
Knight has captained England women 199 times since 2016, including leading the team to a home World Cup victory in 2017 and to two other ICC tournament finals.
She oversaw 134 victories as England women captain, second on the list of all-time most successful captains.
She also led the team to a record-breaking run of eight consecutive ODI series wins including defeating Australia during the 2023 home Ashes, in which England also won the IT20 series to draw a thrilling Women’s Ashes that took interest in international women’s cricket to a new level.
However, on the back of disappointing performances by the team in last year’s T20 World Cup in the UAE and the recent Ashes in Australia, the ECB has decided to appoint a new captain to lead the team into a new era.
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Knight said: “Captaining my country for the last nine years has been the biggest honour of my life and I will look back on my tenure with an enormous sense of pride. I have loved the challenge of leading the team, but all good things come to an end and it’s time for me to go back into the ranks and focus on being the best batter and teammate that I can be for the team.
“Winning the ICC Women’s World Cup on home turf at Lord’s in 2017 will always be a huge highlight, but being a part of the huge steps forward made in the women’s game off the pitch brings me just as much pride.
“I have loved being England Captain, it’s been the most rewarding period of my career, but for now I’m excited to focus on my batting and supporting the team and the new captain in the best way I can.”
Knight made her England debut in 2010 and ten years later became the first England men’s or women’s player to score an international century in all three formats of the game.
