England captain Heather Knight has been ruled out of the rest of the Commonwealth Games and will also miss The Hundred this season because of a lingering hip problem.
Knight suffered the injury during the Twenty20 opener in England’s multi-format series against South Africa a couple of weeks ago and had an injection before the Games to try to soothe the troubled area.
However, an England and Wales Cricket Board spokesperson has confirmed the issue has “failed to settle down as expected” and Knight is now facing an extended period on the sidelines.
It was initially thought England would be able to send for a replacement player but that is not the case because of the rules at the Games and they will compete with a 14-strong squad.
However, Knight will continue her recovery in Birmingham with a watching brief when England play as Nat Sciver continues to lead the side in her absence.
Knight told the PA news agency last week “I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t think I could play a role that’s going to contribute” but she missed England’s wins against Sri Lanka and South Africa.
Having already sealed a semi-final spot – they will play New Zealand on Thursday to determine who finishes top of Group B – England were hopeful Knight would be fit to feature in the knockout stages.
But doubts grew as Sciver said after the 26-run win over the Proteas on Tuesday that Knight was “not in a good place” and had a scan to determine her availability in the remainder of the tournament.
Not only is Knight out of a Games where cricket is making its first appearance in 24 years, a line has also been drawn through her name this season for London Spirit, who she also captains, with the women’s Hundred competition starting next week.
