Heather Knight says the conversation about her future as England captain is “not for now” with two matches remaining in the Women’s Ashes.
England lost the series, 10-0 down on points, after losing the first two T20 Internationals after losing 3-0 to Australia in the tour’s one-day international.
Knight hit 43 not out from 19 balls in Canberra on Thursday, only for England’s chase of 186 to win, which was derailed by a rain-completed final with Australia beating Duckworth-Lewis-Stern by six runs.
Knight’s England trail Australia Women 10-0 in the Ashes
England have not won the Women’s Ashes since 2014, with Australia’s four wins and two series draws since then.
Their aim is to avoid a whitewash in the ongoing competition, with another T20 international in Adelaide on Saturday and a day Test match in Melbourne from January 30.
Knight, who has been a captain since 2016, said: “I think in any leadership position, you always feel the responsibility when the teams are not doing well.
“We haven’t done as well as we’d like across the board. It’s certainly disappointing, but (my future) isn’t really a question at the moment.
“I’m focused on what we have to do to try to win the next game and try to turn things around. Whatever happens at the end of the tour, that will be a later conversation.”
Knight. The referees have the right to stop the game due to rain
Knight cut an angry figure as the umpires hauled the players off the field at Manuka Oval, seconds after she hit Annabel Sutherland for four back to take England’s claim to 18 from the last five balls.
But he later admitted the officials made the right call.
“It was the right decision by the umpires, 100 per cent,” added Knight, who had earlier seen Danny Wyatt-Hodge top score with 52 off 40 deliveries.
“I was really in the zone to try and win us that game and obviously we were going away, but it wasn’t at all the refs. It was pretty slick even when we were running.
“I felt I could get us over the line. I felt really prepared and had some really good boundary options on a very good cricket wicket.
“It was a great crowd and they deserved to finish. You can hear the fans’ disappointment that we’re leaving.”
“We all think about playing for England”
England have focused on playing entertaining, attacking cricket since John Lewis took over as manager in 2022, but they haven’t won an Ashes series or T20 World Cup in that time.
Knight: “We know it’s not as simple as just saying we want to have fun. We also want to win at the end of the day.”
Knight added: “That’s still a mantra that’s really important to this team. We’re always at our best when we’re trying to play and enjoy it. But obviously there’s more to it than cricket.
“We know it’s not as simple as just saying we want to entertain. We also want to win at the end of the day.
“We didn’t make this trip and there are a lot of players who are disappointed and hurt that we didn’t.
“We’re all really thinking about playing in England and representing a team that’s really special.”
Women’s Ashes – results and fixtures
All dates and times UK and Ireland
