‘Needed a big score to have confidence in T20Is’ – Tammy Beaumont

That 20 June in the tri-series at Taunton was a day when everything went right for her. And since then, she says, it’s given her the confidence to back herself to do well in T20Is.

Beaumont, ranked No.6 on the MRF Tyres ICC Women’s ODI Rankings for batters, is No.31 on the corresponding T20I charts; in the longer format, she averages 41.53, as against just about half of that in the 20-over game for England. Those numbers had led to a school of thought that her strength was the 50-over game.

So, her T20I century – the second-fastest, having taken 47 balls, and setting up England’s record total of 250 – coming as it did right after back-to-back one-day international hundreds against the same team, was a statement. It makes her one of the batters to watch at the ICC Women’s World T20 2018 starting 9 November.

“There was a lot of talk in the media – I read an article that I was lucky I hadn’t been dropped before the T20I tri-series,” she told ICC in a chat on the sidelines of the World T20.

“I knew I probably needed a score to have that confidence to go out there in T20 cricket. I’ve always been confident in how I go about the 50-over game, so it’s nice to get that [assumption that T20 cricket isn’t her strength] off the back.

“I still play the same way, but it’s just nice to know I have the ability to do it if the conditions allow.”

Beaumont’s innings that day included 18 fours and four sixes. “The day before, I had a chat with our assistant coach, Ali Maiden, and I said I don’t score quick enough to bat in T20s. Typical me being too hard on myself!

“He said, it doesn’t matter if you’re 10 off 10 balls, you’ll catch it up because you’re good enough in the middle, and that’s pretty much what happened. I was 10 off [12] balls and got going against the spinners, hitting it really nicely, kept finding the boundary through that middle phase.

“And I remember looking up at 70 off not many balls and I don’t know where that happened! I seemed to kind of enjoy facing the two leg-spinners. Then I saw I was on 95, and I was like, ‘Oh no! Don’t get out now! That’ll be embarrassing!’ At the time I had no idea it was the second-fastest T20 hundred.”

Beaumont’s strength is that she plays a 360-degree game, able to attack behind square with an array of sweeps and paddles to open up the field. They aren’t shots that come naturally to her, she has had to work hard on them.

“As a T20 player now, you either have to be able to hit balls out the ground that most people can’t, or you have to hit all around the ground,” she says.

“I used to rely quite a lot on going down the ground and using my feet, but particularly coming here, we’re going to have to play off the back foot a lot more, and be able to sweep against the spin. I’ve worked really hard on my game the last six months.”

But, the records and the fancy shots aren’t what Beaumont is most proud about. She considers herself a more mature player because she’s getting better at deciding when to take the risks.

“These days you’re almost expected to hit big sixes and hit big boundaries, and sometimes that won’t happen,” she points out, referring to England’s unofficial warm-up game, which they lost to Windies. “The pitch just wasn’t good for trying to hit big, and we didn’t adapt quick enough, and that’s because you’ve been practising nothing but hitting boundaries and big sixes, and power hit.

“That’s where the art of batting comes, recognising that on that day, 120-130 would have been a good score. That’s the art and the draw of cricket, that yes we can all do it on a great wicket on a good day, but actually on a tough day and tough wicket, who’s going to score the ugly runs?”

Player of the Tournament during England’s run to the ICC Women’s World Cup 2017 title, Beaumont would be more than happy to pile up the runs in the World T20 as well – especially if it means another trophy.

“I’d love to get another 100,” she says. “I love to top score in every game, because that means I’ve contributed and done my job. But it’s not the be all and end all.

“If I win player of the tournament again, so long as we’ve won the trophy, to take it home to be double world champions, that’s the goal.”