Asked if he thought criticism of some of his players’ fitness was fair, head coach Jon Lewis told BBC Sport: “No, not really. I don’t actually, no.
“We train really hard. Our players are very fit. I’m surprised that people would say that, actually.
“Fitness was absolutely nothing to do with us losing that game. Our players work incredibly hard around their physical fitness across the board.”
Hartley used the example of Australia, the premier team in the world, continuing to overlook leg-spinner Amanda-Jade Wellington, who has not played international cricket since 2022.
“Australia have got 15 or 16 athletes, genuine athletes,” said Hartley. “They have the best leg-spinner in the world in Amanda-Jade Wellington, that doesn’t even get in their squads any more because she’s not fit enough.”
Knight took charge in 2016 and led England to their last major trophy in 2017. Hartley pointed to the chaos in the field in Knight’s absence as a reason for the 33-year-old to stay on. She also supported former England men’s bowler Lewis.
“When you have not won a World Cup for so long, things need to change,” said Hartley. “Last night showed how much England need Heather Knight on the field, because she’s a calm character. She wasn’t there and everyone was looking around all flustered.
“I don’t know where change comes from. I think Jon Lewis is the right man for the job. He has changed women’s cricket, getting the girls to realise they can have a better work-life balance.
“Whether or not they have potentially gone too far the other way, I’m not sure.”