TAUNTON — Heather Knight scored an unbeaten 70 to lead England to a 2-1 T20 series victory over India in Taunton, chasing down a target of 181 in the deciding match. Knight struck 10 fours in her 42-ball innings and shared a 137-run partnership with Alice Capsey, who made 81 off 43 balls, after England had slumped to 38 for 3.

Charlotte Edwards, head coach of the England women's cricket team, said there had been no doubt about Knight’s place in the upcoming World Cup squad despite recent scrutiny. “It's been quite interesting listening to some of the press this week,” she told BBC Sport. “I think the more that people have been writing her off, the more I just knew she was going to put in a performance like this.”

Edwards noted that she had spoken with Knight after England’s loss in the first T20 at Chelmsford about the captain’s character, calling it one of her “biggest attributes.” “I spoke to her after her record game [at Chelmsford] about her character and how that is one of her biggest attributes, and we saw that in abundance tonight,” she said. “It was really lovely for her to have that performance going into the World Cup, but there were no doubts in our dressing room about Heather.”

Edwards also praised Capsey’s contribution, calling it the best innings she had seen the 21-year-old play. “To play the way she did from that position [38-3], I couldn't be prouder,” she said. She said in a podcast interview that Capsey had worked hard over the winter on areas the team wanted her to improve and that her adaptability had been evident during the recent series against New Zealand and India.

Edwards described the competition for places in the squad as a positive. “What's really positive around all this talk about who should be in our team is that there's competition for places,” she said. “That was something I really wanted to create when I came into this role, but without it being a burden. And I don't think it is a burden, seeing the way they're playing—they know that if they want to stay in the team they've got to put in match-winning performances and Heather and Alice did that superbly today.”