'We were desperate to win' – Heather Knight

The match was important from the point of view of the semi-final match-ups at the ICC Women’s World T20 2018. The winners would play Australia, and the losers India. As it turned out, England now have the high-flying Indians to contend with, while the Windies are up against Australia.

“It was a great game of cricket, wasn't it? I thought the fight we showed to stay in that game was great and to set a target that was defendable. And the fight we showed out there to actually get it close was brilliant,” said Knight of the close contest, that saw just 232 runs scored but the game going down to the last over.

“In terms of what went wrong, I guess, ideally you want one of the top five to be there in the last two or three overs. That's where you're going to start to push it forward and get those really big scores.

“And the fielding, I think, a little bit more composure potentially would have got us over the line.”

England’s campaign started with a washout, and there were two relatively straightforward wins after that. When the going got tough, they ended on the wrong side of the result. To Knight, it wasn’t all bad, though.

“I think it's a great experience for the girls. For some of the younger girls that haven't played in front of that sort of crowd, that sort of pressure and the atmosphere that it had, it will be great for them. It's a brilliant learning, I think. And what an amazing occasion it was,” she pointed out.

“To have a tight game like that and to see how we fought, how we stayed in the game, how we scrapped, that's what the team is about. And that's all I can ask for the girls. A little bit more skill and composure we would have got over the line. Really pleasing, obviously, going into the semi-final.”

That said, there was a fair bit of disappointment in the ranks too.

“You can see from the disappointment on our faces from losing that game, we were obviously desperate to win. You want to take as much momentum as you can into those semi-finals,” said Knight.

“We've got a few things we need to sharpen up on and obviously that massive game (against India), we're going to prepare as well as we can.”

The game against the Windies could have gone worse for England had it not been for a 58-run stand for the seventh wicket between Sophie Dunkley, playing just her third T20I and getting a bat for the first time, and Anya Shrubsole. Dunkley scored 35 in 30 balls and Shrubsole 29 in 26.

“It was brilliant. She (Dunkley) has obviously had to wait three games to get out there and get the bat in hand. And I think she's been itching at the bit to do that. She hits very unusual areas as a cricketer. She's very hard to set fields to, having captained against her previously,” said Knight.

“I think having Anya out there (kept her) calm and very relaxed. And seeing Anya's batting as well was a real talking point.”

About Shrubsole, the bowling hero when England beat India to win the ICC Women’s World Cup 2017 final, Knight added, “She's been a great cog for us obviously in the team and the way she goes about things and the sort of calming influence she has. May that continue into the semis.”