Danni Wyatt-Hodge says England team ‘fully back’ Heather Knight after reprimand

Danni Wyatt-Hodge believes Heather Knight is fully focused on the T20 World Cup despite the England captain being sanctioned last week for appearing in ‘blackface’ at a fancy dress party in 2012.

A photograph of Knight, then 21 and two years into her England career, was unearthed on Facebook recently and led to her being reprimanded and given a suspended £1,000 fine by the Cricket Discipline Commission after she admitted a charge of bringing the game into disrepute.

Knight, England captain since 2016, said she was “truly sorry for the mistake” she made and Dave Lewis, the interim director of the Cricket Regulator, accepted there was “no racist intent in her conduct”.

According to Wyatt-Hodge, who was disciplined two years ago for charges relating to ‘blackface’ from an Instagram post in 2013, Knight’s team-mates have rallied round her in the United Arab Emirates.

England get their campaign under way against Bangladesh in Sharjah on Saturday and Wyatt-Hodge is confident Knight has drawn a line under everything else.

“We all know that Heather has apologised and has emphasised her passion and commitment to using her platform to promote inclusivity across the game,” Wyatt-Hodge told the PA news agency.

“She’s our captain and obviously she didn’t need that. She’s prepared really well over the last couple of weeks and we fully back her, put our arm around her and she seems good to go now.”

So, too, is Wyatt-Hodge, who is about to embark upon her seventh T20 World Cup and is in optimistic mood this time can be different to the past six occasions where England have drawn a blank.

As well as England winning 13 of 14 white-ball matches in the summer – only a washout prevented a remarkable clean sweep – Wyatt-Hodge is convinced a preparatory training camp in Abu Dhabi has sharpened minds on the task at hand.

Having occupied a variety of roles in the team down the years from all-rounder to middle-order batter, Wyatt-Hodge, 33, is now an opener tasked with getting England off to a flyer alongside Maia Bouchier.

“I’m going to be nervous, there’s added pressure opening the batting but I just want to enjoy it,” she said. “I’ve still not won a T20 World Cup so it’s about time that it happened.

“The last couple of times I’ve really wanted my hands on that trophy but I’ve got a good feeling about this one. I think that couple of weeks in Abu Dhabi will be really good for us, it will bode well.”

If winning a first global trophy since the 2017 50-over World Cup was not enough of a carrot for England, the International Cricket Council announced there will be record prize money on offer.

Just over £6million is up for grabs, more than double what was available in last year’s edition, with the ICC committing to equal prize pots for all men’s and women’s competitions going forwards.

“It’s amazing to see and the girls fully deserve it,” Wyatt-Hodge said. “There’s so many sacrifices everyone goes through. It’s tough at the top and I feel like this is just the start.”

Wyatt-Hodge speaks from experience about sacrifice as she will now be on the road until just before Christmas, only weeks after marrying long-time partner Georgie Hodge in the south of France in August.

They squeezed in a mini-moon to Saint-Tropez but a hectic winter schedule also involving a trip to Australia for the Big Bash League and England’s tour of South Africa does not faze Wyatt-Hodge.

“I’ve literally got married and then I’m away till Christmas now,” Wyatt-Hodge, who will debut her double-barrel surname in a competitive environment this weekend, said.

“But especially at my age, I just want to enjoy every moment. I love travelling. I love being home but I get itchy feet after a few days.

“I bought a house in the summer, I’ve only stayed there for two weeks. It’s been very hectic but I wouldn’t change it for the world.”

Wyatt-Hodge top-scored for England with 35 off just 19 balls as they defeated New Zealand by five wickets on Tuesday in their final World Cup warm-up. England chased down 128 with three overs to spare.