Knight: 'Wanted to give my all this summer but right time to step away'

Former England captain admits there were "tears" in dressing room, but is excited for what the future holds

As England walked off the field on the second evening of their Test against India at Lord's, Heather Knight turned to Nat Sciver-Brunt, her successor as captain, and asked if she could have the team back for five minutes. Sciver-Brunt could guess what was coming and, of course, she obliged.

Breaking the news to her team-mates that this would be her last game in an England shirt after 16 years was the hardest part of Knight's retirement announcement, which would become public some two hours later, and she admitted there were "a few tears".

"The hardest thing for me was telling people," Knight said. "The people have always been the most important thing for me and the thing I love about cricket is the different characters, the different people.

"I was glad when it was out. I was worried about getting emotional when I was telling everyone, but it was nice to see everyone's reaction and just spend some with the people that I've shared the dressing room with for so long and just enjoy the moment."RelatedWhy India's Lord's Test win is not a surprise

Heather Knight to retire from international cricket after Lord's Test

Sciver-Brunt, who sat beside Knight after England's crushing 270-run defeat on Monday, said it was a privilege to be Knight's team-mate.

"I had big boots to fill when I took over the captaincy, but Heather and I have enjoyed many batting partnerships, many games together," she added. "My favourite memories that we've had is that just natural feeling of us batting together, the way that we understand each other so well and we can get the best out of each other."

As recently as the T20 World Cup semi-final against South Africa 11 days ago, Knight and Sciver-Brunt shared a stand worth 133 runs for the fourth wicket which ultimately set up a comprehensive England victory.

Long before that, the idea of retirement had been percolating for Knight. She had positioned herself to make a smooth transition to an off-field career when she was appointed last December as general manager of London Spirit's team in the women's Hundred, which starts next week.

That post will reunite her with Jon Lewis, the Spirit head coach who was sacked from the same job with England Women after the winless 2025 Ashes campaign, which also sparked the captaincy switch."Life isn't perfect, is it? Cricket isn't perfect, and obviously it wasn't the perfect ending. But I'm so happy to be involved in a Test match at Lord's. That's one of the reasons that I wanted to finish here. I love playing Test cricket. It's my favourite format"

With a home T20 World Cup, where England finished runners-up to Australia, and the first-ever women's Test at Lord's starting five days later, the most pivotal summer of the women's game in this country made sense to Knight as an end point.

"I probably knew at the start of this year that I was thinking this might be the case," Knight said. "A really exciting summer to be involved in, a home World Cup and a Test match. I probably knew that I had a one big shift to give, and whether I had the energy to give any more, I wasn't totally sure.

"But at the start of the summer, I knew that I wanted to give my all this summer, and then that was probably the right time to step away. I'm super happy and the main reason is I'm really excited. I'm really excited for what's next. It's something I've probably been thinking about in my head for the last couple of years."

As soon as she hit her early 30s, Knight felt that she started fielding more questions about a possible retirement date, which is unfortunately still a conversation women are having in cricket far more than men at that age. Unfortunate because it puts an unfair timeframe on an entire population who have demonstrated their ability to play beyond 35, which is Knight's age now.

Harmanpreet Kaur, the India captain who scored an important half-century in this Test, is 37 while the 35-year-old Danni Wyatt-Hodge was the leading run-scorer at the T20 World Cup earlier this month. New Zealand allrounder Sophie Devine retired from international cricket after that tournament but will continue in franchise leagues at the age of 36, and Sciver-Brunt will turn 34 next month having finished the T20 World Cup as the third-highest run-scorer despite playing three fewer games than Wyatt-Hodge or second-placed Beth Mooney because of injury.Knight and Tammy Beaumont chat with Sachin Tendulkar•Stu Forster/Getty Images

But then it is only unfortunate if players feel browbeaten into ending their careers prematurely and Knight's decision feels like it's on her terms, and planned for.

She remains one of England's best batters, as demonstrated at last year's 50-over World Cup, when she fought back from a serious hamstring injury to be her team's top run-scorer. That injury followed a calf problem picked up during England's 2024 T20 World Cup exit and a hip problem which kept her out of a home Commonwealth Games campaign in 2022.

Knight's resilience in coming back arguably as strong as ever each time was testament to her professionalism and, even if she didn't get the landmark Test victory she so wanted for a farewell, she is content.

"Life isn't perfect, is it? Cricket isn't perfect, and obviously it wasn't the perfect ending," Knight said. "But I'm so happy to be involved in a Test match at Lord's.

"That's one of the reasons that I wanted to finish here. I love playing Test cricket. It's my favourite format. It's the most challenging, physically and mentally, and I love playing here. Lord's is a ground that's so special to me as well. It's been an amazing occasion, despite the result."

England's heavy Test defeat raised predictable but fair questions not only about the lack of preparation due to the short turnaround after the T20 World Cup, but also the lack of red-ball opportunities at domestic level. So it was fitting that Knight, clearly a product of the amateur and professional eras her career straddled, offered an insight into how England could improve.

"I'd love to see some domestic red-ball cricket," Knight said. "It doesn't necessarily have to be a full part of the calendar, but I do think it would help us develop as better white-ball cricketers as well.

"When I was a kid, it was hammered into me to value your wicket, value wicket, value wicket. A lot of our younger cricketers coming through are a lot better at T20 than they are 50-over, and they have to learn that side of it… being able to build an innings or shape a spell."

Charlotte Edwards, England's head coach, told Sky Sports that with a home Ashes Test worth four points scheduled for this time next year, she would make it a priority to ensure England are better prepared.Knight in the team huddle at Lord's, having announced her impending retirement•Getty Images

"The focus for this summer was the T20 World Cup and it had to be," Edwards said. "A lot has been going on in my head over the last few days, and the one thing that I keep coming back to is, what we did so well last winter was we had this preparation phase of T20 cricket and we saw the benefits of that this summer.

"I'm now excited to see what we do in terms of our four-day approach to this winter's training. I know that we haven't got the games, but it allows us to spend so much more time with these players, hopefully accelerate their learning in this format."

Sophie Ecclestone, who at 27 is already a decade into her international career, represents the next generation Knight called upon to "decide where they want to take English cricket".

Having taken a five-wicket haul to make it onto the Lord's Test honours board before scoring a defiant half-century - her first at international level - Ecclestone said she would be "forever grateful" to Knight.

"Heather, she gave me my debut cap, and the amount that she's done for me, she rode the highs and lows with me over the last 10 years, so I'm forever grateful for what she's done for me," Ecclestone said.

So with Knight's retirement, along with that of opening batter Tammy Beaumont, who had announced before the match that this would be her last at international level, there was a sense they were leaving the team in a better place.

Knight said: "Something that I've loved the last few years is seeing some of those younger players come in and really grow as people, really grow as cricketers and start to thrive.

"It's just the natural passing of time, isn't it? That happens not just in cricket but in life. It's certainly something that I'll be really excited to watch and, from a playing perspective, see how the team goes forward.

"The amazing thing about this week is it's been a historic occasion, this first Test match at Lord's, but now hopefully there's not that many firsts left to do and it can be all about the cricket."