Heather Knight ruled out of Commonwealth Games 2022, to miss The Hundred as well

The England women’s team has suffered a major blow as their full-time skipper Heather Knight has been ruled out of the remainder of the Commonwealth Games (CWG) 2022. She had sustained a hip injury which kept her out of the first two group games against Sri Lanka and South Africa respectively. As a result, she will also be missing out on the second season of The Hundred, England’s franchise-based cricket tournament.

Knight sustained the injury during a game against South Africa when the Proteas Women toured England for a one-off Test, three ODIs and as many T20Is. She suffered the blow in the first T20I and was ruled out of the remainder of the series. Failing to recover, she had to sit out of the Commonwealth Games matches as well.

Nat Sciver, who was named as the stand-in skipper, will continue to lead the team in the remaining games at the CWG 2022. Knight had been slated to take the helm of London Spirit once more in the second iteration of The Hundred, with the women’s competition scheduled to begin on Thursday, August 11. However, Knight will no longer take part in the 100-ball competition.

England eye a Gold medal at the CWG 2022

England have already qualified for the semifinals of the Commonwealth Games, which is scheduled on Saturday. They won the first two games to seal their semifinal berth, and if they defeat New Zealand in their final group stage match on Thursday, they will avoid playing the defending world champions Australia, who top Group A with three wins from all their three group games.

The 31-year-old Knight’s absence means that England will continue their CWG 2022 campaign with a 14-member squad as they cannot name a replacement as per the rules. Even though Knight has been out of the mix recently, England have been unbeaten under Sciver’s captaincy.

They whitewashed the T20I series against the Proteas Women by 3-0 and went on to defeat Sri Lanka and South Africa to get an early advantage at CWG 2022. As for the Hundred, it would be a challenge for the London Spirits team management to pick a strong candidate for the captaincy role.