Semis defeat ‘will not define’ England’s entertainers: Heather Knight

 CAPE TOWN: Aggressive, attacking and entertaining cricket has been at the forefront of England's approach at the ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2023 in South Africa. And while the semifinal defeat to hosts South Africa will sting, it was not their style of play that proved Englands undoing.

The playing style of the England women's team under coach Jon Lewis has clear parallels with the 'Bazball' approach of the England men's Test team.

Skipper Heather Knight feels that this new approach and the confidence her players gained from such tactics will boost the team's confidence in future.

Taking the positive option and looking to assert themselves in the game, England's batters followed the same blueprint in Friday's semifinal at Cape Town, with openers Sophia Dunkley and Danni Wyatt tearing out of the blocks.

England's opening pair smashed 53 in five overs before Dunkley was dismissed, and the attacking shots kept on coming as England tried and ultimately failed in the face of a brilliant bowling and fielding performance from South Africa.

Just days earlier, England had racked up 213 against Pakistan in the biggest total ever seen at a Women's T20 World Cup, and captain Heather Knight believes that performance helped prove that the strategy is the right one, even if the execution against the Proteas was perhaps not.

"I think we got pretty close to chasing the world record score, so I think it proves that it's a pretty good strategy," Knight said in her media conference after the semi-final loss.

"I think Sophia and Danni at the top of the order were outstanding and got us ahead of the game. We were well ahead of where South Africa were, but they were able to obviously pile runs on at the back end as we weren't able to take the wickets, unfortunately.

"But, yeah, I think the mentality has been outstanding, particularly in the batting group. We've really looked to adopt something a little bit different." (IANS)

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