Heather Knight awarded OBE for leading England to Women’s World Cup victory

Photo: Getty Images

Rochdale-born captain Heather Knight awarded OBE

Rochdale-born England cricket Captain Heather Knight has been awarded an OBE on the New Year's honour list after leading the Women’s team to a triumphant 2017 World Cup victory.

England won the ICC Women’s World Cup for a fourth time this summer following previous triumphs in 1973, 1993 and 2009 – overcoming India by just nine runs in front of a capacity crowd at Lord’s and a television audience of 180 million people across the world.

https://www.rochdaleonline.co.uk/news-features/4/sport-news/111488/cricket-rochdaleborn-heather-knight-captains-england-to-womens-world-cup-victory-over-india

The match, the first World Cup for Knight as captain, was one of the closest finals in the tournament's history, with only the 2000 final between Australia and New Zealand decided by a narrower margin of four runs.

27-year-old Knight began playing cricket in boys’ and men’s teams when she was just eight-years-old after moving to Plymouth as a young girl. A talented right-handed batswoman, she played for Plymstock Cricket Club and at county level for Devon. She was part of the England squad which reclaimed the Ashes against Australia in 2013 and helped retain them in 2014.