Heather Knight not ready to 'hang up boots' despite new London Spirit role

Heather Knight, England's former women's captain, says that her new role as Women's General Manager at London Spirit should not be taken as a sign that she is about to call time on her playing career. However, she acknowledges that the chance to cut her teeth in a formal administrative role could be a vital part of her transition into a post-playing future.

Speaking at Lord's on the day that London Spirit unveiled its rebranded logo for the 2026 season - which, as anticipated, will incorporate the egg-and-bacon colours of the franchise co-owners, MCC - Knight insisted that playing for England will continue to be her priority, including at this summer's T20 World Cup, for which she is expected to remain a central figure.

However, having missed two of the last four editions of the Hundred through injury - including last summer's campaign when a hamstring tear led to her taking up a mentoring role during the team's run to the women's final - she recognises that, at the age of 35, she needs to be "proactive in terms of what comes next".

"I was injured a lot last year, and that gave me a little bit of time to think," Knight said. "As you do get a little bit further in your career, you know that it's not going to last forever. I've loved my time playing in the Hundred, and being involved with the franchise as a player and as a coach, and it just felt like the right opportunity for me at this time of my career. It means that I can continue to play and still fulfil the playing ambitions that I've got."

Having recently returned from a stint with Sydney Thunder in the WBBL, she said her early season priority will be game-time with Somerset, ahead of the T20 World Cup in June and July. After that, her focus will shift to the Hundred, which gets underway on July 21 - though she says it will not necessarily be a permanent shift to an off-field role.

"It's not a sign that I'm going to hang up the boots," she said. "Part of the negotiation around me taking this job was that playing for England comes first, and I still have a lot of ambitions in terms of the playing side of things. The last couple of years has probably taught me that looking too far ahead is actually quite detrimental in terms of your playing career. I really want to enjoy what I'm doing and stay in the moment."

"I think that worked really well for me during the 50-over World Cup," she added, having topped England's averages during their run to the semi-finals, with 288 runs at 48.00 including a matchwinning century against the hosts India.

"You obviously have a huge amount of your life being a professional cricketer, and that's very much linked to your identity as well, because you spend more time with your team-mates than you do your family," she said. "I obviously know a lot of people that have transitioned out of playing, and it's not the easiest thing to do, so part of me doing this is being quite proactive in terms of what comes next, and managing that career transition when eventually it does come."

In her new role, Knight will work closely with Mo Bobat, Spirit's director of cricket, as well as her former England head coach, Jon Lewis, who was recruited to lead the women's coaching set-up last month, having been part of the fall-out from the Women's Ashes whitewash last winter that brought about the end of Knight's own tenure as captain.

"We've got a brilliant relationship," she said. "Obviously, it didn't finish how I wanted, but I know the standard of coach that Jon is. We can challenge and support each other really well, and having a really good pre-existing relationship obviously helps going into this sort of role."

Knight's input has already been felt in the four women's squad members announced on Monday, as part of Spirit's eight direct signings ahead of March's inaugural auction: Charlie Dean, Knight's replacement as Spirit captain last summer; Marizanne Kapp, the South Africa allrounder who was central to Oval Invincibles' back-to-back titles in 2021 and 2022; Mahika Gaur, the highly-rated left-arm seamer, and Grace Harris, the hard-hitting Australia batter.

"When it's a blank sheet of paper, you've got the opportunity to make this the world's best team," Knight said. "Charlie and Grace fit in with that, and when you look at Mahika and Kapp, what an amazing prospect it is, of those two opening the bowling here at Lord's, where the ball probably moves the most for seamers in the whole competition."

Now 36, Kapp displayed her enduring credentials with a decisive five-wicket haul to eliminate England in last year's World Cup semi-final. Gaur, meanwhile, is still only 19, but made her international debut for UAE aged 12, before making her first England appearances as a 17-year-old in 2023.

"She's about 6 foot 6, she seems to grow every time I see her," Knight said. "She's struggled getting on the park in the last couple of years, but she's still very young and still getting used to her body. When she's played for England, she's made a huge impact. She's unique in terms of her point of release, the bounce she gets, and her skills as well. She's still developing, but I think the rate of her development was a reason we wanted to get her on board."