Sophia Dunkley insists England are ‘100 per cent’ behind captain Heather Knight
Share:
Sophia Dunkley insists England are “100 per cent” behind skipper Heather Knight despite seeing Australia end their Ashes hopes with a resounding 57-run defeat in the first T20 international. Trailing 6-0 in the series as they walked out at the Sydney Cricket Ground after losing each of the three ODIs, Knight’s side were well beaten with four overs to spare to hand the hosts an unassailable lead with two more T20s and a Test match to come.
A poor start Down Under had prompted question marks over Knight’s reign as captain and, with only pride now left to play for, the criticism has intensified. “She's a massive part of our changing room, a massive leader and I back her 100 per cent to help turn this team around.
However, asked about Knight’s leadership afterwards, Dunkley said: “Look, I think we just back Heather 100 per cent to lead us out there. She’s done the job amazingly for the last… I don’t know how long it is but it’s been for a long time.
“She’s a massive part of our changing room, a massive leader and I back her 100 per cent to help turn this team around. “All we can do is stick together now and fight as hard as we can for the last three games and absolutely back her 100 per cent as our captain. I’m sure she can bring the best out of us in the last couple of games, for sure.”.
Having won the toss and opting to put Australia in, Knight saw any initiative snatched away from her as wayward bowling and poor fielding allowed the hosts to get off to a flying start which was aided in no small part by a 51-ball 75 from Beth Mooney.
