‘We underestimate how hard it is’ – Ebony Rainford-Brent and Lydia Greenway on Heather Knight display for England

England captain Heather Knight was able to shine during her team’s 27-run victory over New Zealand in the first T20I on Tuesday because she "really understands" her game, according to Ebony Rainford-Brent.

Knight scored 63 off 39 and put on a strong partnership with Maia Bouchier (43 not out off 40) as England posted a score of 160-4. In reply New Zealand could only muster 133-5.

Speaking on TNT Sports' show 'The Edge', former England internationals Ebony Rainford-Brent and Lydia Greenway were asked by presenter Kate Mason what they thought was so impressive about Knight.

“Sometimes we underestimate how hard it is,“ Rainford-Brent explained. “She [Knight] came in, only scored eight off the first 10 balls because she had to adjust and really adapt to the conditions.

“Some players come out, play shots, get themselves in a world of trouble.

“She paced her innings, and she was the only one who hit a six because she seemed to just go through the gears. That’s what I really like about watching Heather Knight, is just how rounded she is as a player; how thoughtful, and she really understands her gameplan.”

Greenway agreed saying: “It takes a long time for batters especially to not only adapt to the conditions but also understand the best options that they can take.

“And Heather’s been able to do that over the years because she’s had success, and I think once you have success you then have a formula that you can then use and roll out depending on where you're playing.

“She anchored the innings and that’s something she’s done for England over such a long period of time.

"She mentioned having that time off, she had three months [off]. She played over in Australia in the WBBL but in these last three months she’s been able to spend time on her game – and a bit of golf probably!

"That’s been an invaluable time for Heather to just recharge her mind and body and get herself ready for a big year.”

Later on in the show the team unveiled the new broadcasting innovation from TNT Sports which is a virtual 3D wicket that allows the experts to demonstrate things to scale.

Greenway showed how Knight was using her crease in intelligent ways to keep the bowlers guessing.

“I think the first thing to reference is just how well Maia Bouchier and Heather Knight played, obviously that partnership they were able to form.

“One of the features I was so impressed with was Heather Knight and how well she used her crease. Sometimes when we talk about using the crease, we think about going forwards and backwards, but what she did really nicely was she used her crease laterally.”

At this stage Greenway demonstrated on the virtual wicket the different ways to move around the crease that can create different angles.

“These are all things that as a batter you’re thinking about in terms of how can I put pressure back on a bowler because it’s so hard for a bowler when you’ve got a batter who is using their crease and using it so effectively.”

At this point Rainford-Brent asked Greenway how not to lose sight of your stumps as a batter when you’re moving around, mentioning that it was something she struggled with in her own career.

“You’ve got to back yourself that you’re going to make contact with the ball. So if I’m moving leg-side of the ball yes you are exposing your stumps but you’ve just got to think to yourself I’m going to make contact here and I’m going to make really good contact.

“The only tricky situation is where you don’t have a Plan B. So sometimes bowlers might choose to follow you, so if they follow you the ball’s going to come a lot tighter to you. So rather than create an angle you might think 'OK I’ll try and play it a bit straighter.' If they go slightly wider that’s where you have to really trust your hands and throw the kitchen sink at it and try and get it over the infield somehow.

“It’s a really good way I think to put pressure on the bowlers.”

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