Knowling-Davies believes now is the time to be a woman in cricket

Nottingham cricket star Rhiannon Knowling-Davies believes there has never been a better time to be a woman in the sport. Part of the Blaze set-up in the East Midlands, Knowling-Davies has made huge strides in recent times and began to take tentative steps into the senior game. Ad The recent T20 Women's World Cup in South Africa and inaugural Women's Premier League (WPL) in India is shining a further light on the women's game, which is continuing to grow significantly in both popularity and profile.

CricketFormer England captain Morgan announces retirement13/02/2023 AT 10:25 And having had to deal with preconceptions as a women's cricketer growing up, Knowling-Davies has hailed the development of the sport. «Playing against boys was an obstacle,» said Knowling-Davies, who is supported by SportsAid and Canterbury and was speaking ahead of SportsAid Week 2023. «There was definitely that preconception: 'Oh, she's not going to be very good — she's a girl' but I managed to hold myself and I didn't let that phase me.

»I just wanted to go out there and prove everyone wrong. That's what I did from a young age. «I feel like when they had that attitude towards me — 'I'm just going to whack her out of the park' — and then I'd go and bowl them out, they'd be like 'Oh, she's actually quite good.' That was one of the best feelings, definitely.

»Women's cricket in general, the amount of funding that's gone into it and how competitive it is now, it's amazing. «I remember joining Notts when I was 11 and the county was begging for girls to play cricket, and now it's hard to get into a county regional academy — it is very competitive. »Even watching the World Cup, that being broadcast on live TV will inspire so many young girls to pursue