England captain Heather Knight is facing criticism for her behavior towards umpires after the second T20I against Australia in Canberra.
England's winless run in the Women's Ashes continued as Australia won the rain-affected second T20I by six wickets in dramatic fashion to complete a complete series victory. The win in the second T20I increased Australia's lead to 12-0 in the multi-format series.
They set a tough total of 186 in a must-win encounter, with England needing 18 off the last five balls. Heather Knight was leading the charge with the bat at her side. An unbeaten 43 off just 19 balls as rain played spoilsport. The referees took the players off the field and it was not possible to continue playing due to heavy rain.
England's innings was halted due to rain earlier in the innings as well. They were at 69/1 in 8.4 overs, two runs ahead of DLS when the rain arrived. But the play resumed after the rain stopped.
Heather Knight wasn't happy at all when the referees called off the match and she wasn't shy about venting her frustration. I decided not to shake hands with the match referees after the match was cancelled. The incident occurred when the field umpires informed her and Australia's captain Tahlia McGrath that the match had been called off with five balls remaining.
Once the referees informed the captains, Heather Knight was seen shaking hands with her Australian counterpart before deciding to leave. One of the referees extended her hand towards the English star, but she ignored it and walked away.
He watches:
it's all over! 😮
Australia won by six runs via DLS.#ash pic.twitter.com/htbIBIh4rW
– 7cricket (@7cricket) January 23, 2025
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Heather Knight admits the judges were right:
Once Heather Knight calmed down and got her emotions under control, she admitted that the referees were right to call off the match. She admitted that she was frustrated to be left the field after having had good contact, before repeating that the decision to stop play was correct.
“It was the right decision by the judges,” she said. “I was really in the zone trying to beat us in that game, and obviously I was frustrated with us getting knocked off the field, but it wasn't in the hands of the referees at all. It was very wet, even when we were running, it was very slippery and it was It's very difficult to attack these two, so yes, it was 100 percent the right decision.
“It was a great game of cricket. I felt like I could get over the line. I felt really prepared, and had some really good boundary options in a very good cricket wicket. It was a great crowd, and they deserved the finish. You could hear the frustration from the crowd because we were out,” she added. The match could not reach its end.”
With the Ashes already lost, England now have nothing but pride to play for. They will look to win the third and final T20I to end the series on a high. The T20I series will be followed by a one-off Test between the two sides.
