Knight: Five-day Tests are a must

CAPTAIN Heather Knight lauded England’s one-off Test against India at Bristol as an excellent advert for women’s Test cricket as battling India earned a hard-fought draw, writes JEREMY BLACKMORE.

But now Knight, captaining her 100th game for England, says it would have been even better were there five-day Tests in the women’s game.

India, 165 runs behind England’s first-innings total of 396-9, frustrated Knight’s side with strong lower-order resistance, holding on at 344-8 when bad light set in.

“There's been a lot of draws in women's Test cricket. So, it's definitely something [five days] I think should be looked at," said Knight. "If there was another day what a great finish it would have been. We were almost robbed of that finish because of that.

“It’s almost a shame that it fizzled out a little bit. Obviously, it was set up to be very good and very exciting finish, but I think it's been a brilliant advert.

"We’ve had some great skill on show and youngsters come in from both sides and playing outstandingly, Shafali Verma, Sophie Ecclestone and Sophia Dunkley on debut. It’s really exciting to see that and it shows that women's Test cricket has a place in the game.”