Tammy Beaumont Column: I wouldn't recommend losing your first three games, but we're here now

TAMMY BEAUMONT: To try and galvanise the group, I got everyone messages and pictures from their families and friends back home, and then I hid them in the dressing room for each person to find, so they could read their messages

Well, it feels like a very long time ago that we played those two warmup games in Christchurch ahead of the World Cup. There's been an awful lot of travel, and plenty has happened since then. But here we are now: we're in that home stretch towards hopefully winning tomorrow and getting into another final.

This was always the goal, but we made it quite difficult for ourselves by losing the first three games. In a way, it means we've been playing must-win cricket for a couple of weeks now, so we're more than used to the pressure of having to perform in a one-off game.

That being said, I wouldn't recommend losing your first three World Cup games, but it has made every game really real. You know that you're gone if you lose the next game – that's exactly what you get in semi-finals. At times, it was quite nervy – especially the win over New Zealand – but the last two have certainly been a lot more assured, and we've managed to play the way we want to play despite being under that pressure.

I think it's also been a boost knowing that we're coming home soon to end what has been a very long tour. We've essentially been away for a quarter of the whole year, and before that we were quite restricted as well because of the Covid threat over the festive period. So, there were a few tired bodies at the end of the last few group games, but it has spurred us on, knowing that it will all be worthwhile if we can win two more games of cricket. That last week buzz is helping us through.

As a senior player, I've tried to do my bit as well to keep everyone going. My personality leans towards trying to share a bit of fun and a bit of love.

I got everyone messages and pictures from their families and friends back home, and then I hid them in the dressing room for each person to find, so they could read their messages. There were actually a lot of tears, and at the time I thought I'd done a very bad thing! But everyone really appreciated it.

I'd actually first had the idea in Australia because a few of us had been able to take our partners with us, so I felt a bit guilty. But everyone seemed pretty happy, so I put it on the backburner. I think it was a day of dreary weather down in Dunedin that prompted me: people seemed a bit homesick, with tour life getting to them a little bit.

^{Beaumont in action against Bangladesh in England's last group game (Marty Melville/AFP via Getty Images)}

That was my way of saying: 'Look, it's tough and we've been here for such a long time, separated from our loved ones, but there are still a lot of people backing us and believing in us.'

Before Covid, a lot of the families were on a WhatsApp group that we used to arrange an annual family day, which was an absolutely wonderful occasion where the ECB would put on hospitality for everyone at a game and then we'd all have a meal together afterwards. So, I messaged Heather's partner, Tim, who's basically the leader of the group, along with Nat Sciver's dad. He put out a message, and then they replied to me individually. A few of them weren't on there, so I had to find a few phone numbers.

Some of the messages were so heartfelt and so lovely, and some of the pictures were hilarious. That's how I tried to galvanise us, while also forgetting a little bit about the cricket. I leave that to Heather, who has been brilliant at keeping us on task and nailing the basics.

Ultimately, we've all played enough cricket to know that if you drop four or five chances in a game, you're not going to win many. We didn't even do any fielding practice between the South Africa defeat and India win because we only had one day off, so it was more a case of making sure that we just nailed it at that crucial time.

The only player who trained in that period was Heather, and she said that was only because there was something specific that she wanted to do. The rest of us just took some time to relax – I think we had a gym session, but since the warmup game we've only had a single day off, and that was my birthday. The rest of the time, it's been a travel day or whatever else. The golfers have been struggling to get out on the course!

To be honest, though, we've not really had normality since going to Oman in late November. After that, we had to train on our own to avoid Covid at all costs. I think it's always tough when you're constantly repacking your suitcase. We have to get our bags down the night before, so you're in your England kit all day when you travel. It's quite intense.

^{South Africa won the group game between the teams in dramatic fashion (Fiona Goodall/Getty Images)}

That's all forgotten, though, if we can get over the line against South Africa. Historically, we've had a fair bit of success against them, including in the semi-final five years ago en route to winning the World Cup.

But while having that kind of history against a team helps your confidence, I don't think it really makes a difference on the day. They are riding the wave at the moment – they're playing some brilliant cricket. Their win against India came with the second-highest successful chase in World Cup cricket, so that's pretty impressive and they're clearly on a hot streak.

They'll be coming in desperate to take us on and beat us again. A lot of us have played a fair bit against them, so we know what they try to do – we probably match up quite well as two teams, but on the day it'll all be about which players step up for each team.