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Knight to call time on England career after historic Test against India
England's Heather Knight thanks the fans after the ICC Women's T20 World Cup final at Lord's Cricket Ground, London, July 5, 2026

HEATHER KNIGHT will retire from international cricket at the end of this week’s Test match against India at Lord’s.

Knight, who has made a record 320 appearances for England, has joined team-mate Tammy Beaumont in calling time on her career at the end of what is the first women’s Test match at the home of cricket.

The 35-year-old made her England debut in 2010 and went on to captain the side on 199 occasions between 2016 and 2025, guiding the team to success at the ICC Women’s World Cup on home soil in 2017.

However, Knight was sacked as captain in March last year after a diabolical Ashes tour of Australia in which England were trounced 16-0.

“I’m extremely grateful and privileged to have gone on the journey that I have been on as an England cricketer,” Knight said.

“It’s hard to walk away because the dressing room and the people in the dressing room have been a constant in my life for 16 years, and the memories and the experiences and the people have helped shape me become who I am today, but I’m really content with this decision and I’m really excited for what’s next.”

Knight became the first English player to score centuries in all three formats of the game when she made her first T20 hundred in Canberra in 2020.

Like Beaumont, who announced earlier this week the Test match would be her last international appearance, Knight is among the last of the “originals” who got the first batch of professional contracts in the women’s game.

Nat Sciver-Brunt, Danni Wyatt-Hodge and Amy Jones are the only others still active in the game.

“Growing up as a little girl from Devon and playing with the boys, I never thought I’d get to experience this,” Knight added.

“It feels right to leave the game with this historic test at Lord’s. It’s been an amazing 16 years and I feel so lucky.”

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