India bound: Kayley Knight has been selected for the New Zealand Cricket Women's Development Squad to travel to Mumbai for the first ever overseas tour this month. File picture
India bound: Kayley Knight has been selected for the New Zealand Cricket Women's Development Squad to travel to Mumbai for the first ever overseas tour this month. File picture
Budding all-rounder Knight, 22, has been selected for the New Zealand Cricket Women's Development Squad's first ever overseas tour this month.
The team will play seven T20 games in Mumbai between November 22 and December 6: two games against the West Indies under-19s onNovember 22 and 24 at the DY Patil Sports Academy, then five games against the India u19s at the Bandra Kurla Complex on November 27 and 29, and December 1, 4 and 6.
Poverty Bay and the Northern Braves cricketer Knight has completed the first of three years' study for a Bachelor of Sport, Health and Human Performance at the University of Waikato. She is in no doubt as to the opportunities the next few weeks will afford.
“This is the opportunity of a lifetime and it's exciting for me and the other girls after the work we've put in, training for the domestic season and NZ camps in the past two years,” said Knight, the daughter of former Northern Spirit off-spinner and Tairāwhiti Women's Cricket Club founder Mel Knight.
“In terms of what I'd like to get out of this tour, I want to perform well but also want to take in the experience as a whole.
“I've definitely improved my batting technique, training with former Black Cap and Northern Knights captain Daniel Flynn in Tauranga for three months. He's our ND performance and talent coach.”
She said she had seen improvement in her power-hitting and overall game, and had benefited from the feedback she had received from other coaches.
Knight is one of two Braves (Bay of Plenty's Nensi Patel is the other) in the 15-player party to travel under head coach and former White Fern Sara McGlashan.
