The Hundred 2026: Heather Knight has committed to continuing her career despite the role of London Spirit

Knight has been linked with Spirit since The Hundred’s first season in 2021, leading them to the competition title in 2024.

She missed the 2025 edition of the tournament after suffering a hamstring injury, but remains with Lourdes as a coach and mentor.

She was then approached by Popat, the former England performance director, in a call she said came “a bit out of the blue”, and offered her the general manager position.

The role will see him provide knowledge of the women’s game, with Popat having previously worked predominantly in men’s cricket, while providing another experienced voice when the tournament is in progress.

“I’ll be sitting on a lot of the decisions around women’s recruitment and I’ll be part of a group of us that will shape the strategy around our auction planning,” said Knight, who was speaking at Lord’s when the Spirit announced the eight players they had signed ahead of the auction.

“Regarding day-to-day matters during the competition, I will not be involved in the selection. This is the job of the coach and captain to make it happen.

“I’ll be the objective person in the locker room to make sure I’m supporting and challenging the head coach and helping him in any way they really see fit.

“It’s a bit of a different role, I think I’ve gotten used to it, but I think it suits what I’ve done in the game. I’ve had a lot of experience in selecting teams as England captain and Spirit captain.”

The role sees Knight reunited with Lewis, who captained England between 2022 and 2025 and was appointed to the Spirit role in December.

The duo lost their role as coach and captain after England’s disastrous Ashes tour last winter, in which the tourists failed to win a single match.

“I’m thrilled to have John Lewis on board,” Knight said.

“We kept in touch. I had a really good working relationship with John – we worked brilliantly together over those three years. That relationship is going to be really important.”

“We look at it as a partnership in terms of how we run things. And having that strong pre-existing relationship will be really good for London Spirit.”

“No need to beat around the bush, the Ashes didn’t end the way we both wanted it to, and I think we learned a huge amount from that experience.”