Heather Knight

Her international career began with a one-day international in 2010, and a year later she earned her first Test cap, facing Australia. Her finest individual performance came in 2013 in an Ashes Test at Wormsley, again against Australia. She spent close to seven hours at the crease compiling 157, an innings that helped her team hold on for a draw and ultimately keep hold of the Ashes. She is admired for a sound, well-drilled technique that works equally well off the front and back foot, and observers have frequently likened her approach at the crease to that of Joe Root.

Away from the scorecards, the triumph at the World Cup was followed by an OBE in 2018. She is also credited with a notable first: she became the first female player to combine a half-century with a five-wicket haul in a single ODI.

In a 2022 Ashes Test against Australia she produced an unbeaten 168 during a gripping drawn match, a knock that many consider among the best of her career. Although her side came away from that multi-format Ashes series on the losing end, she was retained as captain for the Women's World Cup in New Zealand, which was due to begin in March 2022.