Cricket has been rocked to its core by a report from the Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket (ICEC), which excoriated the sport's ingrained racism, sexism and class barriers in England and Wales.

While Knight admitted to being unsurprised by the ICEC's findings - and was interviewed by the panel herself - she argued there have been advancements in the women's game recently.

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She pointed out there will be around 20,000 people at Edgbaston on Saturday for the first T20 between England and Australia, with 85,000 tickets for the seven matches in the multi-format Ashes series.

"It's been really sad to hear about anyone that's not felt welcome in our game and really sad to hear stories of discrimination - nobody should be made to feel unwelcome in our sport," Knight said in a statement at a press conference.

"I think it's really important for me to say as a woman in cricket it's not at all surprising, the recommendations that have come out of the report - but it's really important to say cricket has come a hell of a long way since I was a kid."

Knight added: "I started out playing men's club cricket and being asked 'do you do the ironing for the men when you finish playing?' [Now] I'll lead my side out [on Saturday] in front of a near full-house, with 85,000 tickets sold for the whole series.

"Cricket has come very far but it's also got a long way to go. Every person involved in the game, whether that's players, administrators, coaches and the media have a really key part to play in helping the game change.

"As a group of England women cricketers we feel really strongly about this.

"We feel like the game needs to keep moving forward, albeit having come a long way. And we want to be a key part of that in pushing the game forward."

When asked whether cricket's stakeholders can deliver on all 44 recommendations from the ICEC report, Knight said: "Working towards them is very important.

"To all of us, it hasn't been a surprise what's been in there, about women's sport in particular. I think having done this report, cricket can lead the way in being more equitable, more diverse and more inclusive.

"In terms of the women's game, the priority is getting the structures in place to give equal opportunity - to have a young girl that gets the same opportunity as a young boy in terms of facilities, coaching, support, whatever it might be.

"Getting that pathway right and professional structure in the right place is going to make the women's game sustainable."