England’s former captain Heather Knight has decided to retire from international cricket after the completion of the Lord’s Test against India. Since her debut in 2010, the English batter has played 15 tests, 160 ODIs, and 145 T20Is.

With 320 appearances across all three formats, Knight becomes England’s most capped female cricketer.

The 35-year-old started her international cricket career in an ODI match against India in Mumbai on 01st March 2010. There could be no better moment than now for Heather Knight to announce her international cricket retirement during the most historic test match at Lord’s.

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) publicly conveyed Heather’s emotional retirement message to fans with an official statement.

‘Hard to Walk Away’: Heather Knight’s Emotional Statement

After 16 years of international cricket, Heather feels it could be difficult to walk away from those memorable moments in her career:

“Yeah! Thank you all. I am extremely honored and grateful to have progressed on this journey so far. I know it could be hard to walk away because the dressing room and those individuals in the dressing room have constantly been part of my life for the past 16 years.

The memories and experiences, as well as those individuals who helped share my career, it is all because of them to become who I am today. But I am really satisfied with this decision and excited about what’s going to happen next.

Fortunately, I have played with some top cricketers and some great people who not only taught me about cricket, but also inspired and supported me throughout my career.

A big thanks to my coaches, support staff, and teammates. Especially, I would like to give credit to the medical staff as well, who helped him play 300 games of cricket, and I am not sure how my body managed to play all those matches. They have put in a lot of effort to patch up, and I feel grateful for their hard work.” Knight’s words were shared through an ECB statement.

Knight’s Special Cricketing Moments in Her 16-year Career

Having appeared in four ODI World Cups, Heather Knight, as a captain, steered her team to the title-winning campaign in 2017. Also, there are other special moments in her career, such as emerging as the first English female cricketer to score centuries across all three formats of international cricket back in 2020.

“See! As a team, we cherished several unforgettable special moments with our fans, and I want to thank everyone for their dedicated love and support shown towards women’s cricket. I have grown up watching this great game, which has been the greatest privilege of my life.

A special thanks to all my family and friends who have been at my side throughout the highs and lows of my career.

As a little girl from Devon who grew up playing cricket with the boys, I never imagined that I would get an amazing experience to play at the highest level. I feel this is the right time to leave this sport with this historic test match at Lord’s. I feel lucky for this remarkable 16-year journey in my cricket career,” Knight added.

Heather Knight’s One Last Performance At the Lord’s Test

The inaugural women’s test match held between India and England witnessed Heather Knight’s last international cricket appearance at Lord’s. However, her performance at this iconic venue concluded with disappointing scores of 6 and 13 runs in the first and second innings, respectively.

Regardless of the way Knight’s international career ended, her legacy will continue to inspire generations of cricketers for decades to come.

Heather Knight’s International Cricket Stats: Tests, ODIs, and T20Is

With 7,988 runs across all formats, which include 6 centuries and 42 half-centuries, Heather Knight’s consistency with the bat has clearly been evident in 320 international matches. Here is a breakdown of her batting and bowling stats in tests, ODIs, and T20Is: