Heather Knight: Australia are the favourites but don't write England off

Tournament cricket is a different kettle of fish to a multi-format series and Knight is 100 per cent confident her side, who are the defending champions, can beat Australia in a World Cup setting

Heather Knight is confident her England side will put up a strong title defence in New Zealand despite Australia being the favourites to lift the World Cup trophy on April 3.

Australia have been the dominant side in 50-over cricket since the 2017 tournament, embarking on a record-breaking 26-match winning streak and losing just once – a two-wicket defeat against India in September 2021 – since the start of 2018.

England, meanwhile, arrived in New Zealand with their tails between their legs after suffering a 12-4 defeat against Australia in the Women’s Ashes, including a tame 3-0 surrendering of the three-match ODI section of the tour.

However, Knight isn’t reading too much into her side’s recent mauling due to the differences between a multi-format series and tournament cricket, and has backed her side to defeat Australia in their World Cup opener on March 5.

"Five years is quite a long time and Australia have been the outstanding team within that period, so they rightfully deserve that favourites tag," Knight said.

"[The Ashes] wasn’t the tour we wanted, particularly how we finished those final two games where [there was] a little bit of mental and physical fatigue from the side.

^{Australia cruised to a 12-4 Ashes victory [William West/AFP via Getty Images]}

"Early on in the Ashes we went toe to toe with Australia and just lost those big moments and weren’t able to get over the line. But we got ourselves into winning positions and that’s the side we are and the side we want to go back to being – taking the game on and taking the game to the opposition.

"It’s really important that we’re able to park that and realise we haven’t become a bad side overnight. We’re still a very good ODI side. I certainly believe as a side, on our day, we can beat them, and I think we showed at times in the Ashes that when we do go toe to toe with them, we can be successful. We probably just lacked that killer instinct but I 100 per cent believe we can beat them.

"World Cups are so different from a multi-format series like the Ashes. You’re playing a different team every week, travelling around, facing different challenges and different battles.

"Tournament cricket is all about getting to the semi-finals - anything can happen from there - and trying to bring your best cricket on the day is really important."

One of the problem areas for England in recent ODIs has been their top-order batting. Lauren Winfield-Hill, who has opened with Tammy Beaumont in 10 of England’s past 14 ODIs, has particularly struggled, failing to score a half-century in the format since November 2016.

"It’s really important that we’re able to park that and realise we haven’t become a bad side overnight. We’re still a very good ODI side. I certainly believe as a side, on our day, we can beat them"

On the eve of the World Cup, England remain uncertain of their best opening pair, and indeed best XI, with Danni Wyatt, who opened the batting against New Zealand in February, and Emma Lamb competing against Winfield-Hill. But with two warm-up matches against Bangladesh and South Africa, Knight isn’t too concerned about her selection dilemma.

"It’s pretty obvious we haven’t nailed that spot yet, but that’s sometimes how it goes in cricket and you don’t quite have the perfect lead-up to the tournament," she said. "The two warm-up games will be a chance for whoever we go with to really cement their spot and get some form going into the tournament.

"In terms of the side, getting the balance is always key. We’ve played around a little bit with seven batters and five bowlers or six batters and the extra bowler, so being really clear on when we use the different balances of the side throughout the tournament is something we want to get ticked off.

"Usually with warm-up games, my instinct is to try and make them as competitive and match-like as possible, but we do have the option of rotating people. We’re trying to get the most of them so that we can try and build confidence and momentum heading into that first match."

^{Opener Lauren Winfield-Hill is causing Knight a selection headache [Marc Evans/Getty Images]}

And Knight has two other reasons being in high spirits heading into her side’s title defence.

Firstly, her side have recent experience of playing and winning in New Zealand following a successful tour of the country last winter. During that tour, England won five of their six competitive matches and familiarised themselves with the conditions in Dunedin, Wellington and Christchurch – the venues for three of their seven group matches plus the knockout stages.

"We had a really brilliant series here a year ago," Knight said. "We played outstandingly and the players got to grips with the conditions which are really similar to English conditions, so hopefully we can use that experience to our advantage."

Secondly, her England side have the experience of what it takes to win a World Cup, with seven members of the 15-strong squad already in possession of a winner's medal.

"That was one of the best five or six weeks of my life," Knight said, reflecting on the 2017 tournament. "We were chatting about it the other day and remembering how imperfect it was and how you have the highs and lows of a competition. You forget that because you win and look back and it was all plain sailing, but it wasn’t. It’s a nice reminder that we’ll have to ride the highs and lows.

"Sometimes it’s just about getting over the line. That’s what we did so well in 2017. We were able to win games that were really tight, keep our composure in the big moments and deal with everything else that comes with a  World Cup. It’s one game at a time."

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