Heather Knight said Dani Gibson embodies the “courage” and “clarity” England need in T20Is ahead of the World Cup in October. Gibson made 22 off nine balls, hitting five boundaries, all off international bowlers. The boundaries turned the tide of the 100-run final at Lord's, helping the London Spirit win their first ever men's and women's title. Gibson was dismissed at number five after Knight was castled out by Shabnim Ismail's 74mph in-ducker. This left the Spirit at 56 for 3, needing 60 off the final 44 balls to win. She hit an inside edge single off the first ball, then hit boundaries off five balls to bring the runs needed down to 1 for 1, changing the complexion of the match.
“You forget how young she is,” Knight said of Gibson, who turned 23 earlier this year. “I saw her play at Lord's last year, the comeback win against Australia. That's the mindset you want in an England team, a willingness to take risks, go out there and show what you've got and Dani is the epitome of that.”
“She's a player who can impact the game in all three areas. She hasn't been as good as she would like with the ball in the last few games, but her spirit of 'I'm going to go and win this game' has been incredible. She's a great ball-striker. She knows exactly how she wants to play and that's exactly what we want from her. We're happy for her.”
Gibson has played exclusively as the No. 5 hitter since batting leadoff last season, but he had only batted twice in the four games leading up to the final because of a series of dominant performances by the Spirit's top of the lineup.
“We were thinking yesterday that our middle order hasn't been hitting the ball much recently and hasn't had much time to play in the middle order,” Knight said. “We had a lot of conversations about not putting any nervous pursuers out there and really breaking that momentum. Her innings today really stood out with her coming on to the mound and playing with a brave attitude. It took the pressure off the other hitters.”
Gibson guided Ismail outside short third before pulling the third ball over midwicket for four. “It was really important for me to get off to a good start,” she said. “I was excited about myself because I'd never really hit the pull shot well. I was disappointed with how I delivered (0 for 16 off 10 balls) and felt like I'd let the team down.”
Knight was the second-highest run scorer in this year's women's 100-run tournament and Gibson said she felt the need to take some responsibility after her captain's dismissal: “Heather had batted really well for us throughout the tournament so it was time for other players to step up… I didn't want to overthink things, that's when I'm at my best. I just wanted to play simple cricket and see where it took me.”
Gibson fell with 27 required with 29 balls remaining and Deepti Sharma smashed a six over long-on with two balls remaining to guide the Spirit to victory. “Deepti has shown incredible clarity and composure with both bat and ball,” Knight said. “Apart from today, her drive and eagerness to take on the game has been fantastic.”
England head to Abu Dhabi next month ahead of the T20 World Cup in October and Knight believes his players will be full of confidence after their dominant performance in the Hundred. “I'm really pleased,” Knight said. “It's great to see the other lads in action and I'm really looking forward to seeing them again in a fortnight.”
“Nat (Siver-Brandt) has been incredible, she was barely out and the way she played was fantastic. I'm really happy to be at the World Cup. I've never really gotten a top hundred before so I've been trying really hard to do well this year. I'm really happy to have been able to contribute… I felt really fresh and wanted to show how well I'm doing.”
It's unclear whether the tournament will go ahead as planned in Bangladesh due to security concerns following an anti-government uprising, but Knight hopes a decision will be made within the next week. “This is out of our control and the focus is on the tournament,” Knight said.
“Hopefully a decision will be made soon in terms of planning and things like that and getting things ready. Obviously players have been selected. It shouldn't have too much of an impact, but it will be good to know where it's going to be and how the situation will play out.”
“It really depends on the location. If it's in the UAE, the conditions in October will be quite similar to Bangladesh in terms of pace and bounce on the wicket. We don't have much experience there but of course we have a training camp in Abu Dhabi. We'll have to wait and see but hopefully we'll know next week.”
Matt Roller is Assistant Editor at ESPNcricinfo. @mroller98
