The T20 Women’s World Cup campaign in England ended in despair as they were eliminated in the semi-finals without a ball being thrown.
Heavy rain caused a delay at the Sydney Cricket Ground, India and England waiting to see if they would be able to make it to the field, but the match was then abandoned, India reaching the final.
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Heather Knight team denied possible seat in T20 World Cup final due to rain
England were eliminated because the lack of a reserve day meant that India had progressed after dominating Group A, with Heather Knight’s team finishing second in Group B.
And Captain Knight called on the International Cricket Council to introduce a reserve day in future tournaments to prevent this incident from happening again.
“These are the rules, I guess,” Knight told Sky Sports. “We signed up at the start of the tournament.
“It is really frustrating and it could have been avoided and you hope that it will now be integrated into the game in the future.
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“This is what you need isn’t it? There has to be something wrong and something that’s totally wrong for this rule to change, I hope it changes, but it’s at the ICC.
“I hope there will be a rule change and that another team won’t have to go through it.”
England lost to South Africa in their first Group B match, but reached the semi-finals after victories over Thailand, Pakistan and the West Indies.
“There is not much we can do, I suppose.” It rained a lot and not having the chance to fight to compete in this final is very exhausting, “added Knight.
“That’s what it is, losing this first game against South Africa has finally cost us.”
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Knight advocated introduction of reserve day at future tournaments
The second semi-final between the hosts and the defending champions, Australia and South Africa, is also likely to disappear, the Proteas having to pass in the final after having dominated Group B.
Bowler Saqib Mahmood was sympathetic to the Knight team and does not expect the same to happen in future tournaments.
“It is quite odd to read the rules,” he said. “Sometimes they need something like this to take a look. I highly doubt it will be the same for the next World Cup.
“It’s not the best way to go out. They played very good cricket and that’s not how they wanted to leave the tournament. “
