ENGLAND WOMEN’S CRICKET CAPTAIN. AGE 25.
How did you get to where you are today?
I started playing cricket when I was about 6 years old. I had an older brother and I was that annoying younger sister who wanted to do everything my older brother did! When he started playing cricket I decided I wanted to give it a go and be better at it than him so I went and tried it and absolutely loved it. I didn’t get to play women’s cricket until I was a little bit older. I got selected for the England team when I was 19 and I’ve played ever since then.
What does your daily job entail?
My day-to-day job is to be a professional cricketer. I spend a lot of my time training to prepare myself for international cricket games. We’re very lucky because we get to travel all over the world and go to loads of different countries to play cricket. I’ve recently been made Captain so that involves a little bit more responsibility and thinking, but I’m really enjoying it so far.
What’s the biggest risk you’ve ever taken?
Probably the biggest risk I ever took was after uni… I finished my degree and wasn’t really sure what I wanted to do. I was still playing for England but it wasn’t really a professional job back then. I took the decision to carry on with my cricket and did as much as I could to work along side that. Luckily it paid off because cricket became a profession for women cricketers in the next few years. It was a risk that worked out well!
What were you like at school?
Back at school I was a slightly shy tomboy. I loved my sport and also loved being at school and hanging out with my mates. I was reasonably shy and spent a lot of my spare time outside of school playing cricket and following sport.
Has there been a defining moment in your life that has made you who you are?
I guess a defining moment in my career was just before I made the England squad… I actually got dropped from the Academy squad, which is the team just below the England squad. That made me realise how much I wanted to play for England and spurred me on to work a lot harder. I made it onto the England squad about six months after that which I was pretty pleased about!
What do you still want to achieve?
I’ve only just been made England Captain so I guess the next few years are going to be about making that role my own. We’ve actually got a World Cup coming up next year in this country so I’m really excited for that and would love to come away a World Cup winner. The final is at Lords so it would be amazing to make it to that final and lift the trophy!
What advice would you give to your teenage self?
If I had to give my teenage self a bit of advice it would probably be to not take myself so seriously and relax and let things come. I’d tell her to keep enjoying your cricket and carry on doing what you love.
What is the best advice you’ve ever been given?
The best bit of advice I ever got given was to trust yourself and never think that you’ve made it. Even when things are going well you should work that little bit harder to make sure it stays that way.