Knight committed to playing despite Spirit role

Former England captain Heather Knight says she is committed to continuing her playing career despite taking up a position as general manager of London Spirit in The Hundred.

Knight will not feature on the field in the 2026 edition of the tournament and will instead support Spirit’s sporting director Mo Bobat and women’s head coach Jon Lewis.

The 35-year-old remains contracted to England and Somerset, and has recently finished a stint in the Women’s Big Bash League with Sydney Thunder.

“It’s not me retiring or finishing playing, it’s just me turning my head slightly towards what might come next,” said Knight.

“This was an opportunity to continue playing, in terms of my commitment to England and Somerset. It was a tricky decision, but one I felt was a really good opportunity for me that I didn’t want to turn down.”

England host the T20 World Cup in June and July, and while home tournaments are often a stage for veteran players to bow out, Knight says the competition will not feature her last trip to the crease.

“I’m certainly committed to playing at the moment. One thing the last couple of years has taught me is it’s not actually super beneficial to look too far ahead sometimes,” she added.

“Something I’ve tried to do is live in the moment and really enjoy what I’m doing. There’s bound to be questions around retirement and things like that.

“But while I’m still performing, enjoying my cricket and contributing to the team being successful, I want to carry on playing.”

Knight has been associated with Spirit since The Hundred’s first season in 2021, leading them to the competition’s title in 2024.

She missed the 2025 edition of the tournament after sustaining a hamstring injury, but remained with the Lord’s-based side as a coach and mentor.

She was subsequently contacted by former England performance director Bobat, in a call she says came “a bit out of the blue”, who offered her a general manager role.

The role will see her offer knowledge of the women’s game, with Bobat having previously worked mostly in men’s cricket, while providing another experienced voice when the tournament is in play.

“I’ll sit across a lot of decisions around the women’s recruitment and be part of a group of us that will form the strategy around our auction planning,” said Knight, who was speaking at Lord’s as Spirit announced the eight players they have signed prior to the auction.

“In terms of day-to-day during the competition I won’t be involved in selection. That’s the head coach and the captain’s job to work that out.

“I’ll be the objective person in the dressing room to make sure I’m supporting and challenging the head coach and helping them in any way they see fit really.

“It’s a slightly different role, I guess one that I’m getting used to, but one I think suits what I’ve done in the game. I’ve had a huge amount of experience in selection for squads as England captain and Spirit captain.”

The role sees Knight reunited with Lewis, who led the England side between 2022 and 2025 and was appointed to his Spirit role in December.

The pair lost their roles as coach and captain following England’s disastrous Ashes tour last winter in which the tourists failed to win a single game.

“I’m delighted we’ve got Jon Lewis on board,” said Knight.

“We’ve stayed in touch. I had a really good working relationship with Jon – we worked brilliantly together over those three years. That relationship is going to be really important.

“We’re viewing it as a partnership in terms of how we run things. And having that pre-existing, really strong relationship is only going to be a really good thing for London Spirit.

“No beating around the bush, the Ashes didn’t finish how we wanted for both of us, and I think we’ve both learned a huge amount from that experience.”