England captain Heather Knight had no hesitation in putting country before club but admitted the T20 franchise league boom will take women’s cricket into uncharted territory.
With England’s first match on a white-ball tour of New Zealand starting on March 19, two days after the Women’s Premier League final, Knight withdrew from a planned stint with Royal Challengers Bangalore.
Nat Sciver-Brunt, Sophie Ecclestone, Danni Wyatt and Alice Capsey had England’s blessing to go to the WPL and will therefore miss the first three of five T20s against the White Ferns this month.
It is hoped a repeat scenario can be avoided in the future with a specially-designated WPL window but Knight is aware the proliferation of domestic T20 tournaments opens avenues to women like never before.
“It was a pretty easy decision for me as England captain, it’s the right thing for me to be there for the whole of the England tour,” Knight told the PA news agency ahead of International Women’s Day.
“I’d always agreed to play the England games and wanted to, that was a given. I was trying to negotiate with the franchise around leaving a little bit early, but unfortunately that didn’t come to fruition.
“It was just unfortunately a little bit too tight with the flights and stuff and we couldn’t get the tour pushed back. As the game evolves, players have got more decisions to make as those options increase.
“It’s a sign of lots of opportunities in the women’s game but hopefully there’s a place for both franchise and international cricket to co-exist. It’s certainly interesting going forward.”
The quartet at the WPL – who will be available from the fourth T20 in a tour also including three ODIs – are earning lucrative sums at their franchises with Sciver-Brunt and Ecclestone on six-figure deals.
Knight sees the upshot for England as they can get a feel for Asian conditions before the autumn’s T20 World Cup in Bangladesh but she warned that workloads must also be given consideration going forward.
“I actually think some of our players playing in the WPL would be a huge benefit for England in the future and hopefully we’ll see that benefit at the T20 World Cup,” Knight said.
“It’s great for players and there are so many more opportunities but players are now having to make tricky choices around what’s best for them and how to manage the calendar.
“It’s becoming pretty much impossible to play in all the big franchise competitions and every game of cricket for your country.
“We’ll certainly see players trying to manage their workload and try and peak at the right time for big tournaments like the T20 World Cup.”
Knight was speaking after another revolutionary past 12 months for women’s cricket, with the 2023 Ashes generating record attendances and viewing figures, while England’s male and female cricketers are now paid equal match fees.
The England and Wales Cricket Board is now attempting to implement a radical shake-up of the domestic women’s game, which will see a three-tier structure and change in ownership model introduced from 2025.
“It seems like every year is groundbreaking and lots of changes,” Knight added. “It’s the fast-paced nature of things and trying to accelerate that move towards equity with the men’s game.
“The steps have been really good and it’s another exciting place to be. Last year was another remarkable year but let’s hope for another remarkable and groundbreaking year this year.”
Dottin among nominees for ICC Women’s Player of the Month for October
West Indies all-rounder Deandra Dottin has been named among the three nominees for the ICC Women’s Player of the Month award for the month of October.
Dottin made her comeback for the national side at the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in the UAE, and was a driving force as the islanders reached their first semi-final at the event since 2018.
She was instrumental in victories over Scotland and Bangladesh, but saved her most valuable contributions for the latter stages, where she shone with the bat, ball and in the field in their group stage win over England, before producing a memorable individual display with 33 runs and four wickets in the thrilling semi-final defeat to eventual champions New Zealand.
Dottin will be going up against New Zealand’s Amelia Kerr and South Africa’s Laura Wolvaardt for the award.
The nominees for the Men’s award are New Zealand’s Mitchell Santner, Pakistan’s Noman Ali and South Africa’s Kagiso Rabada.
Kevin Sinclair replaced by Junior Sinclair in Harpy Eagles Super50 squad after internal report to GCB
All-rounder Kevin Sinclair will take no further part in the Guyana Harpy Eagles CG United Super50 Cup campaign in Trinidad and Tobago. The decision made by the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) followed the submission of an internal report by the Harpy Eagles' management team that it was necessary to replace the player.
The GCB, in making the revelation, also announced that Kevin Sinclair will be replaced by Junior Sinclair in the squad at the tournament.
Though the GCB’s statement did not clarify if sub-standard performance is the reason behind Kevin Sinclair’s ejection from the squad, it pointed out that it was a “necessary squad adjustment.”
“Following an internal report from the Guyana Harpy Eagles management, it has been decided that Kevin Sinclair will no longer be participating in this year’s competition,” the statement read.
In the three matches played in the Super50 Cup, Kevin Sinclair tallied 14 runs and snared three wickets.
He made 14 from 16 balls against Windward Volcanoes and took 2-66 from 10 overs in the same match.
However, he did not bat in the rained-out contest against Combined Campuses and Colleges Marooners and was dismissed without a score against Barbados Pride and only took 1-26 from 10 overs in that same match.
The Guyana Harpy Eagles are winless after three matches.
A similar situation arose last year during the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) T20 tournament when organisers announced Kevin left the Guyana Amazon Warriors squad for “personal reasons.”
Kevin Sinclair’s departure opens the door for Junior Sinclair to take up a spot in the Harpy Eagles squad ahead of Tuesday’s contest against Leeward Islands Hurricanes at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy.
Guyana Harpy Eagles Squad: Tagenarine Chanderpaul, Matthew Nandu, Tevin Imlach (captain), Kevlon Anderson, Kemol Savory, Junior Sinclair, Keemo Paul (vice-captain), Ronaldo Aimohamed, Veerasammy Permaul, Isai Thorne, Ashmead Nedd, Nial Smith, Sylus Tyndall, Rampertab Ramnauth.
Salt confirmed as England wicketkeeper despite Buttler return for West Indies T20Is
Phil Salt will be wicketkeeper in England’s upcoming T20I series against West Indies as white-ball captain Jos Buttler looks to improve his captaincy.
Buttler has been ruled out with a calf strain but will return to England's squad for the five-match T20I series that begins on Saturday.
Until now, Salt has kept in just 13 of his 59 England appearances across all formats but has taken up the mantle for the ongoing ODI series against West Indies.
Buttler, on the other hand, has donned the gloves in 106 of his 108 T20Is.
Salt, though, is enjoying his new role.
"It's not something I've done a lot for England recently, but I enjoy keeping. I feel like that's where I offer most to the side," Salt said, as reported by ESPN.
"We've not had a chat about anything going forward. I'm just glad to be doing it at the moment."
While Salt is not guaranteed the gloves after this series, he will find comfort in Buttler's intent to optimise his captaincy by experimenting with a role in the field.
"I was going to give up the gloves and commit to being at mid-off and see how that felt. If it will help me with my captaincy it is something I am open to," Buttler told Sky Sports in September after being ruled out of the T20 series against Australia.
England are tied 1-1 in their ODI series against the West Indies with the decider to be played on Wednesday.
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