Once the nerves were out of her system, Tammy Beaumont was back in the groove

NICK FRIEND AT THE INCORA COUNTY GROUND: Beaumont's knock was a welcome reminder of how dangerous a player she is when near her best, having admitted to feeling some pressure for her place as England returned to action after a six-month hiatus

For Tammy Beaumont, the wait for the beginning of the women’s international summer has felt longer than most.

In her last England innings 204 days ago, she fell without scoring in a T20 World Cup group match against West Indies – the same opposition against whom she would resume her existence as an international cricketer behind closed doors at Derbyshire’s Incora County Ground.

That was in March – a distant, bygone, simpler time; it was her first effort at the top of the order under the management of Lisa Keightley, who had until then preferred Amy Jones – with whom she had worked at Perth Scorchers – and Danni Wyatt at the front of the innings, with Beaumont slipping, somewhat de facto, into a finisher’s position.

“Her experience gives us depth and another person who can finish off an innings under pressure or be adaptable to whatever the game needs,” Keightley told The Cricketer in February, ahead of the tournament

But in truth, it made her vulnerable – effectively the spare batsman in an England team beginning life under new leadership with fresh ideas, shunted out of a role that had become her natural habitat during Mark Robinson’s tenure, from where her performances won England a World Cup: she scored 410 runs – more than anyone else – during the 2017 tournament.

When Robinson spoke to The Cricketer a matter of months after leaving his role, he reflected on the shape of his legacy, pointing specifically to her growth as a player. “It will always be the little things that you’re prouder of,” he mused. “Tammy Beaumont’s development being an obvious one – watching her from the beginning to now.”

^{Tammy Beaumont made 62 off 49 balls}

Her match-defining innings on Monday evening, therefore, carries an extra significance. It was by some distance her best knock since Keightley took charge – only the second time she has made it into double figures.

Speaking after her 62 set England on their way to a straightforward victory, she knew its importance, too.

“I can tell you that felt a long way away four months ago when I got back to cricket and got bowled by an under-arm in my first session,” she said.

“A couple of weeks ago, I was a little bit stressed, thinking I wasn’t hitting them that well and I could end up out of the team here because we’ve just got such a talented batting line-up at the moment and everyone wants a go at the top or in the top five. It’s not unthinkable that I’d have been left out.

“But I think having three months off fully from cricket reminded me of the reason I started playing and the little girl who was just desperate to get out in the garden and play.”

Beaumont always speaks well, offering genuine insight into her own thinking and her team’s strategies. On the decision to take a knee ahead of the first ball of the match, she explained that “we really wanted to do something”.

“It’s really important for anyone with any kind of platform to really stand up for what matters,” she said. “And certainly for me, I feel like I’ve personally been educated since what happened in America.

“It has really opened my eyes to some of the white privilege that I get every day. For me, it is really important that we address this issue and stand together really.”

^{The innings was Beaumont's first half century under Lisa Keightley}

As for her return to the top of the order, the irony is that it came by necessity rather than design due to the struggles of the opening partnership during the T20 World Cup. But even then, Beaumont was trapped in front by Shakera Selman for nought as England won to reach the semi-finals.

In her column for The Cricketer ahead of this first WT20I, Jones reflected on the swap, admitting that it came as “a big blow” to her and that she “was gutted to move down”, while also acknowledging that “something needed to change”.

There are elements of the Jos Buttler quandary in England’s use of Beaumont in WT20Is. Her knock here – a buccaneering, canny combination of brute force and wristwork – proved that her move into the middle order should have worked, given her propensity to hit the ball all around the ground. But it also gave credence to the theory that she is best served facing as many balls as possible, such is her match-winning potential. After all, no one has hit more WT20I centuries than the 29-year-old.

“Lisa has asked us to try to go harder at the top of the order,” she explained of a busy, uber-aggressive start – she struck three boundaries in the first two overs and had made 15 before Danni Wyatt even faced a ball.

“It’s something that we haven’t really nailed in the last couple of years in terms of how many runs we get in the powerplay, so I’ve really had to take that on and really look at how I can go harder at the top and how we as a team can go harder at the top.

After six months away, tonight mattered

“Obviously, Danni Wyatt has been brilliant there for a number of years, but it’s a case of doing the right thing for the team.

“I was quite nervous going into tonight; I’ve done quite well in the last couple of intra-team games but it’s very different when it’s against a real opposition and international cricket.”

Beaumont was hardly alone in looking sharp. Katherine Brunt, at the age of 35, conceded just eight runs from her four overs, while Jones – batting at No.5 in a reshaped batting order – looked in good order, hitting five fours as wickets tumbled at the other end.

In the field, England were terrific – as sprightly as they have been for some time. A nod perhaps to the collective enthusiasm at finally being unleashed in late summer, but also – as Beaumont referenced – to the impact of Michael Bates, the former Hampshire wicketkeeper, who works with England Women on their fielding.

“I think we’ve really been put through our paces in the last four months since coming back in June,” she added.

On this showing, she looked all the better for it.

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