Heather Knight calls for investment to preserve women's international cricket

The increasing number of franchise competitions could put women's international cricket in danger due to the disparity in professionalism across the women's cricket circuit, believes the England skipper

Heather Knight believes the status of women's international cricket could come under threat from the increasing number of franchise tournaments and has called for greater investment in order to preserve its status as "the pinnacle of the game".

England are currently in the Caribbean as part of a white-ball tour against West Indies. On the field, Knight's side have tasted great success, winning the ODI leg of the tour 3-0 and holding a 4-0 lead in the five-match T20I series.

However, while full of praise for West Indies, both in terms of their welcome and the competitive cricket provided, Knight labelled the tour "really strange" and "like going back in time" owing to the lack of media coverage and not having access to DRS or a third umpire.

In the UK, broadcast coverage is only available via BT Sport 5 – the series was originally slated for one of the main channels – and the quality of the stream has been widely criticised on social media.

Money, Knight acknowledges, is at the heart of these problems but she believes the disparity between professionalism in the likes of Australia and England and the rest of the women's cricket circuit could result in players abandoning international cricket in favour of "playing less cricket for more money" in franchise competitions.

^{England are one win away from an unbeaten white-ball tour of the Caribbean [CWI Media]}

The inaugural Women's CPL was launched in August 2022 while IPL and PSL competitions are scheduled to join the ever-expanding calendar next spring.

"It's been a low-key tour," Knight said ahead of the fifth T20I. "No media out here, not a huge amount of coverage so it's felt like we've been able to go about our business. With the World Cup coming up, it's going to be very different and very much in the spotlight, so it's a bit of a strange one.

"Not having a third umpire and DRS feels almost like going back in time – you become used to it and you take it for granted. Ultimately, it's about money and the money available to put into those resources.

"But for us, it's still playing for England, it's still representing your country, it's still working towards a massive year for us next year so in terms of our intensity and will to win, it's been very normal. [There is] a little bit of frustration that it feels like going back in time."

Addressing the possible battle for supremacy between international and franchise cricket, she continued: "There's a lot of change on the horizon with franchise competitions kicking off and I think it's really important that international cricket is looked after and is strong in all countries and is still the pinnacle of the game.

"You see the changes happening in the men's game and in the women's game it could affect things more if people decide to go down the franchise route and play less cricket for more money with the differences in professionalism around the world and the differences in some teams in the depth because of the domestic leagues. A little reminder, I think, that international cricket needs to be invested in."

The increasingly crowded schedule comes with its own challenges and several England players have taken time out of the game over the past few months, Knight included after suffering a hip injury, to manage their wellbeing. Her own break has given her a "fresh lease of life" but she believes players will have to become more aware of their physical and mental health going forward.

"As players, it's such a different landscape than we've been used to previously with all the franchise competitions starting," she said. "We're really learning how to manage ourselves physically and mentally, being able to find those little windows where you might work on your physical and mental health and find ways to get away from the game, so when you are in it you're fit and firing.

^{Knight singled out Charlie Dean (centre) for praise following her performances on the tour [CWI Media]}

"It's certainly a thing we've talked about as players and want to be better at and not get to the point where you need to take time away or get injured. It's only going to get more important as things get busier."

On the pitch, while the winning margins have been large and in England's favour, Knight insists the tour has been a valuable fact-finding mission, allowing her side to adjust to the positive approach championed by head coach, Jon Lewis, as well as giving players an opportunity to put their hat in the ring for the upcoming T20 World Cup.

"It's been brilliant. We've done a lot of things really well, a lot of boxes have been ticked and definitely feels very fresh and very new," Knight said.

"Jon has come in and been very clear about how to go about our cricket and myself and him are very aligned on that and where we want to take the team. For us now, it's continuing this way of playing and doing it in big world events under pressure. It's been a brilliant vibe around the group and a real buy-in from the girls.

"We've given an opportunity to a lot of players and it feels like we've got a big pool of players. If we have injuries like we've had, we've got brilliant players to come in and fill that gap. Look at Charlie Dean: we're absolutely stacked in the spin department but Charlie has come in and done herself no harm. Lauren Bell: she's only played a handful of T20s and she's tearing it up taking four-fors, so it's a healthy place for us to be as a group.

"I think we're close [to our World Cup squad]. We're still hoping Alice [Capsey] will be fit but it's going to be quite tight, so knowing there's players ready and waiting is really important. It wasn't just about finding out about the XI, it was finding out the squad and who's going to be that 15 on the plane to the World Cup."