Heather Knight calls on ICC to offer option of five-day Tests

NICK FRIEND AT TAUNTON: For a third time in the last 12 months, an England Test was impacted by poor weather

Heather Knight has called on the ICC to give individual boards the option of playing five-day women's Tests after the weather ruined England's victory charge against South Africa at Taunton.

Close to an entire day's play was lost over the course of the match – the third time that an England women's Test has been impacted by conditions in the last 12 months, following draws against Australia and Bristol. Not since 2013 has a women's Test in England escaped unscathed without stoppages.

South Africa came into Thursday's final day with seven wickets in hand but still trailing by 78 runs. They lost just two wickets in the 43.1 overs possible across two stunted sessions before the heavens opened for a second time and hands were eventually shaken on a draw, with the tourists five wickets down and 48 runs ahead.

Had the weather played ball, it would have left a tantalising finale in prospect, with Marizanne Kapp and nightwatcher Tumi Sekhukhune having done a fine job to push their side into the lead.

"We've got an Ashes Test match in the summer next year and hopefully the ICC give the option for boards to choose four or five days and hopefully that will be the case," said Knight, who has campaigned consistently for an extra day.

Not long after the conclusion, teammates Kate Cross and Tammy Beaumont had both made their feelings known on social media with similar comments.

^{South Africa fought to a draw on a rain-impacted final day (Harry Trump/Getty Images)}

Knight added: "I think when we play Tests so rarely, when we play it once every six months or even in a 12-month period without a Test it's important that it has the chance to come to a crescendo and finish.

"The stats in terms of the amount of draws speak for themselves a little bit and it's hard to keep trying to fight the corner for women's Test cricket when a lot of the games finish in a draw."

Beyond the result, however, the quality of individual performances could hardly be argued with. There were centuries for Nat Sciver, Alice Davidson-Richards and Marizanne Kapp – "a remarkable innings" – while Issy Wong impressed on her international debut. She praised the impact of the Dukes ball, which was used for the first time in women's Tests and made for "a really good addition".

On Wong, whose burst with the ball on the third evening felt like a defining era in English women's cricket's new era, Knight said: "I've started calling her Road Runner actually she seems to bounce everywhere and charge around. She's great, you can just chuck her a ball and feel like something's going to happen and she wants to really influence the game when she comes on.

"She wants to bowl quick, and she wants to take wickets and she seems to just make things happen, so it's been lovely – we've obviously had to manage her loads a little bit, she was that luxury bowler that we wanted to come in, bowl in short spells and try and make things happen.

"So that's obviously how I used her and she's just fun, she's herself, she's got so much energy, she's like a kid – always got a big smile on her face. She's great, she's so enthusiastic and you can tell she just loves the game and loves trying to bowl quick and take wickets.

"I think we've played the game exactly how we talked about, how we wanted the girls to approach it – any chance we got try and take the game forward bat and ball and I think we did it in the right way."

^{The argument for a fifth day in women's Tests was reinforced on Thursday (Harry Trump/Getty Images)}

All that without Anya Shrubsole and Katherine Brunt, England's seam-bowling stalwarts. Shrubsole has called time on her international career, while Brunt has retired from Tests.

Knight admitted to "missing them for different reasons".

"Anya for her logical clear-headed thinking about the game, her big cricket brain bouncing ideas off her and missed Katherine's passion and determination and funny comments when you're in the field for a long time as well," she explained.

"But it has given opportunities for obviously those young players to come in and show what they can do and they've been itching to get out there in an England shirt.

"It's really exciting, you're obviously going to get different things with youth and you're going to get that energy, and you're going to get that slight lack of experience at times as well.

"But I think the way those girls have come in has shown as well that there's really good signs for the future of English fast bowling."

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