Somerset’s appointment of England captain Heather Knight to their board has been hailed as a shrewd move by England Women’s head coach Jon Lewis. Knight’s role will involve advising on cricketing matters as Somerset prepares to compete in the top tier of the new domestic women’s competition next year.
Lewis believes Knight’s experience and knowledge will be invaluable to Somerset, who are one of three new teams joining the top flight alongside Durham and Essex. “Somerset have made a really smart decision in getting someone involved in their board who’s got a real intrinsic knowledge of women’s cricket,” Lewis said.
Knight’s appointment comes at a critical time for women’s cricket in England and Wales, with the regional set-up set to be disbanded after this summer. Many players face moving to different cities to play at the highest level, or playing in the lower tiers of the new competition.
Knight is acutely aware of the challenges facing players and has emphasized the importance of supporting them during this transition. “It’s important that the girls are looked after and helped to transition into the new structure,” she said.
Meanwhile, Bess Heath may find herself taking on more wicketkeeping duties for Northern Diamonds after being earmarked as Amy Jones’ understudy in the England set-up. Lewis expressed concern that Heath had not been keeping wicket regularly for Diamonds, despite being one of the best young wicketkeepers in the country.
“It does really concern me that one of the best young wicketkeepers in the country isn’t keeping wicket,” Lewis said. “She’s a really dynamic batter and we hope that she’s able to keep wicket for the Diamonds.”
Heath’s importance as a back-up keeper for England was highlighted by the omission of Tammy Beaumont from the T20I squad to face Pakistan. Lewis emphasized the need to balance Heath’s development with providing cover for Jones.
“We need to balance her development with as equal a dose of playing as we can, whilst also having cover for Amy Jones because we would look a little bit silly if Amy injured a finger during a game or during warm-ups and we didn’t have a keeper around,” Lewis said.
