England have room to improve after T20 victory – Heather Knight

Heather Knight believes there is room for growth following England’s four-wicket win over South Africa in their opening T20 clash.

All three England spinners claimed wickets and Freya Kemp also took a scalp as the tourists restricted South Africa to 142 for five after winning the toss and electing to field.

Nat Sciver-Brunt had a brilliant half-century and put together a valuable 50-run partnership with Amy Jones before England reached their target with four balls to spare.

The next match of the three-match T20 series is on Wednesday at Benoni, where skipper Knight believes England can improve.

Knight said in the post-match presentation: “I think they were pretty tough on us and I thought we responded brilliantly, the way we kind of struggled to get the momentum back at the back this powerplay with the wickets was brilliant.

“Charlie (Dean) and Sophie (Ecclestone) in the middle, just rotating and bouncing around a bit, being really smart with the areas they played in.

“I think, to be honest, we could do a lot better. It was a little disjointed, but it was also a very good start.

“(It’s) really nice to get the win, but there’s a bit of room for improvement.”

Sciver-Brunt hit 59 from 54 balls while Jones smashed 31 from 19 to help England recover from 65 for four.

Sciver-Brunt almost took England over the line, but she was dismissed in the final over by Eliz-Mari Marx before the next ball went for a pass to end the match.

“I think Nat’s innings intelligence was brilliant,” Knight added.

“Then with Amy’s momentum shift, that was a key part of the game, it was getting pretty close for us in that middle period.

“The way Amy attacked a few overs really brought the game back in our favor which was really nice.

“Seeing her do that and Nat, she’s great, a very calm head under pressure. And these are the kind of innings you see from her all the time, so excited that she’s getting us across the finish line.

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