Beaumont considered calling time on career before historic Ashes knock

Before her record-breaking summer, England cricket star Tammy Beaumont was ready to give it all up, writes Sportsbeat's Milly McEvoy.

Over the winter, she was tasked with reinventing her game to fit into the style England’s new head coach Jon Lewis wanted to play, Beaumont hit a wall.

But once she was out in the middle at the beginning of the season in an Ashes battle, the top-order batter soon found her groove and the rest was history as she became England Women’s first double centurion.

“Jon Lewis challenged me from pretty much day one,” said Beaumont, who will play for the Welsh Fire in this year’s Hundred. “He didn't want me to just anchor the innings and be someone that everyone batted around.

“That had been used in previous years and I'd found it quite boring, to be honest, doing that role.

“So, when he said that I jumped at it, but also did feel a lot of pressure to keep my place.

“The likes of Alice Capsey, Emma Lamb, Sophia Dunkley, they're all that mold that Lewy wants, I certainly felt like I had to prove myself to him and play that way.

“I think definitely it has reinvigorated me, but there were times in the winter where I didn't think I'd ever do it and thought that was the end and that I should give up before I fail miserably.”

Beaumont laughs off her struggles now as she spoke at the launch of KP Snacks community cricket pitches initiative which will fund 100 new pitches over the next three years.

But when she was in the depths of her dilemma, she made her regional teammates cry.

She explained: “When I got back from the PSL, there was a point where I was like, ‘I don't know if I really want to do this anymore. It's hard work.’

“To really go through the emotional highs and lows of it all. There was a period where I'd worked hard physically, in the indoor school doing all sorts of running sessions in the snow at Lady Bay and not particularly enjoying it.

“There was a point where I was like, ‘What's the point if I'm not going to play for England, if it's going to just keep being repeated failures?’

“And I genuinely, genuinely thought about it. And thought about do I just become a Sky broadcaster.

“Our coach at the Blaze used to make us do competitions and there was one where you had to write a poem, and it had to be better than your teammates.

“And mine brought four people to tears and one of them was an ex-England player. And it was basically like, do I give up now? Do I keep going? Do I ride the highs and lows? All I'll do is give it some time.”

Beaumont found her feet excellently, making 208 in the Women’s Ashes Test, before compiling 111 runs in three games as England won the ODI series.

She will be the first to admit it has not been easy, as she goes against what being an elite athlete means – running towards potential failure.

“Trying and failing is still something that takes a while to get on board with,” she admitted.

“Lewy said, he thinks it's wrong, but often as parents, you bring your son up to be brave and courageous, you bring your daughter up to be perfect.

“And he's trying to get rid of that and let us make mistakes. But I think as a player, it's all well and good, saying it's the way I play, it's fine to make mistakes.

“But then if the other four openers that are in the team are all not making mistakes, you're not in.

“So as a player, as someone who has always tried to seek perfection, and I think any athletes have massively got perfectionist tendencies, obsessive tendencies, none of us are particularly normal, that's something you always must battle with.

“But it certainly feels like it's ok to make mistakes in a way that if they come off, it would have been worth it.”

KP Snacks are funding 100 new community cricket pitches over the next three years. To find out more and search for a pitch visit: www.everyonein.co.uk/pitchfinder