Monday 26 November 2018 00:01, UK
Heather Knight says England will take time to reflect on their eight-wicket defeat by Australia in the final of the Women's World T20 as they look ahead to next summer's Ashes at home.
Australia coasted to their fourth 20-over world title after bowling out their rivals for just 105 and then chasing down the total in only 15.1 overs.
Knight admitted immediately after the match that the reigning 50-over World Cup champions would assess how they go forward but says the loss will not be something they will dwell on for too long.
"It is quite raw at the moment," she said. "We will obviously take time to reflect and work out where we go forward as a team. We have a massive year coming up with the Ashes so we will go back, assess and move on."
Mark Robinson took an inexperienced side to the Caribbean including three uncapped players - Kirstie Gordon, Sophia Dunkley and Linsey Smith - as well as being without experienced campaigners Sarah Taylor and Katherine Brunt.
Despite the result, England captain Knight was full of praise for the young team as Gordon finished the tournament joint third-highest wicket-taker with eight scalps.
"We came in with a lot of inexperience and some of the girls that have come in have stepped up brilliantly," she added.
"Sophie Ecclestone has only been around for a year, but she bowled brilliantly [in the final] and Kirstie Gordon and Sophia Dunkley have been a real find."
After winning the toss and opting to bat, England's batters struggled with the ball sticking in the wicket and although Australia were sloppy in the field, only Danni Wyatt (43) and Knight (25) made double figures.
Knight acknowledged that the team's failure to adapt to the pitch cost them.
"We wanted to put runs on the board," Knight said of her decision to bat first. "We knew there was going to be a bit of dew and it would skid on a lot more than it did in the semi-finals.
"We didn't quite adapt to conditions as well as we could have in terms of areas we hit and the wickets we lost. I thought Danni Wyatt started brilliantly - the way she played with freedom is what we wanted and it gave us a bit of momentum.
"But we kept on losing wickets at key times and lost momentum and weren't able to post a total that was competitive."
Victorious Australia captain Meg Lanning said: "We didn't have our best day in the field [but] I thought we came into the game really prepared, our bowlers did a great job, they really tied them down.
"We were able to take wickets throughout."
