Heather Knight will retire from international cricket at the end of this week’s Test against India at Lord’s. Knight, who has made a record 320 appearances for England, has joined her teammate Tammy Beaumont in calling time on her career at the end of what is the first women’s Test at the home of cricket, and one in which England appear headed for defeat after a gruelling second day’s play on Saturday.

The 35-year-old made her England debut in 2010 and went on to captain the side on 199 occasions between 2016 and 2025, guiding the team to success at the Women’s World Cup on home soil in 2017. However, Knight was sacked as captain in March last year after a disastrous three-format Ashes tour of Australia in which England were trounced 16-0.

“I’m extremely grateful and privileged to have gone on the journey that I have been on as an England cricketer,” Knight said. “It’s hard to walk away because the dressing room and the people in the dressing room have been a constant in my life for 16 years, and the memories and the experiences and the people have helped shape me become who I am today, but I’m really content with this decision and I’m really excited for what’s next.”

Knight, who became the first English player to score centuries in all three formats of the game when she made her first T20 hundred in Canberra in 2020, began this week’s Test on 7,988 international runs. On Saturday she added only six to that tally before falling victim to Sayali Satghare as England were bowled out for 170, ending the day 269 runs behind an India side who will resume on 154 for one on Sunday.

Like Beaumont, who announced earlier this week the Test match would be her last international appearance, Knight is among the last of the group who received the first batch of professional contracts in the women’s game. Nat Sciver-Brunt, Danni Wyatt-Hodge and Amy Jones are the only others still active in the game.

“Growing up as a little girl from Devon and playing with the boys, I never thought I’d get to experience this,” Knight added. “It feels right to leave the game with this historic test at Lord’s. It’s been an amazing 16 years and I feel so lucky.”

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Clare Connor, the managing director of England Women, said: “Heather’s contribution to England women’s cricket has been extraordinary. She has combined skill and determination as a player with exceptional leadership qualities, helping to shape this team and the game more broadly through one of the most significant periods in its history.”