Inclusion of women’s cricket in CWG is a brilliant move: Knight

PTI, Jun 21, 2019, 11:28 AM IST

London: The inclusion of women’s cricket in 2022 Commonwealth Games is a brilliant move as it will take the game to new audiences who have never given “priority” to it, says England women’s team captain Heather Knight.

Women’s cricket is set to be part of the Birmingham Commonwealth Games after the Commonwealth Games Federation on Thursday nominated its inclusion in the 2022 edition.

The nomination was made at the Executive Board meeting of the CGF in Birmingham.

The decision, however, is yet to be ratified by the CGF members.

“It is brilliant news. I knew the ICC and ECB had pushed for it to be included and it has all clicked into place perfectly. Birmingham is the ideal place to hold it too, it’s a city that loves its cricket and will really get behind the team,” Knight said.

“Hopefully this will take women’s cricket to a new audience, to other countries who never really saw it as a priority and increase its funding.”

The 28-year-old batswoman, who captained England to glory in the 2017 Women’s World Cup at home, expressed her love for multi-discipline sporting events and hoped she would be still around till 2022.

“As cricketers, you never really think about the Commonwealth Games, it is all about the Ashes and World Cups. But I used to love watching the Olympics and Commonwealth Games as a kid, following the stories and the athletes representing their country and winning golds,” Knight said.

“Hopefully, I will still be playing in 2022 too! All the girls would love to be a part of it, it is a little bit different and unique. Everyone relates to the Commonwealth Games and representing England makes me very proud so to do so there would be special.