England’s Heather Knight felt she “deserved a bit of luck” after seeing three potential dismissals overturned on review during a match-winning innings against Bangladesh in the Women’s World Cup.
Knight hit an unbeaten 79 to see her side to a jittery four-wicket victory in Guwahati, but had to come through a rocky start that saw her given out by the on-field umpires on nought, eight and 13.
She was convinced there was no bat in the initial caught behind, though DRS was far from conclusive, and rightly spared from an lbw soon after but appeared to accept her fate when she was caught by Shorna Akter.
Decent partnership that 😮💨 pic.twitter.com/eyPrvjUALa
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) October 7, 2025
The former captain was on her way back to the pavilion when the footage was checked and the decision came back in her favour.
“I thought it carried and was a fair catch, that’s why I walked off. Obviously the TV umpire decided otherwise,” she admitted afterwards.
Without Knight’s steady hand, a chase of 179 may well have proved beyond England in difficult turning conditions.
Although it was a clear case of good fortune that she survived to play her part, the 34-year-old felt it was about time. Since the start of 2024 she led her country to a record 16-0 Ashes defeat, lost the captaincy after a decade in post and then suffered a serious hamstring tear she has only just recovered from.
In that context, she added: “With the year I’ve had, I probably deserved a little bit of luck today. I just tried to ride that and make it count.
“It’s the first time I’ve been given out three times in an innings and had them overturned, that’s for sure. It’s a new one on me.
“It was just a case of refocusing. I was really pleased to do that in a huge World Cup game under pressure.
“They gave us a run for our money but the main thing about today was just getting the ‘W’ and getting over the line.”
England’s bowlers did well to keep the target below par, Sophie Ecclestone leading the way with three wickets for 24 runs in a 10-over stint that included a remarkable 48 dot balls.
Fellow spinners Charlie Dean, Linsey Smith and Alice Capsey took two wickets apiece.
Bangladesh captain Nigar Sultana Joty lauded her team’s effort as they kept the prospects of a major upset alive deep into the second innings.
“I think it was an incredible game, especially with the way my girls fought until the last ball,” she said.
