The start of the Women’s Ashes 2023 at Trent Bridge didn’t go as per the plan for England, and their bowlers struggled to pick wickets after losing the toss and being asked to field first in the one-off Test.
Although the English team did bundle out Australia courtesy of a fifer from Sophie Ecclestone, the Australian batters showcased brilliant composure and finished their innings on a score of 473. Ellyse Perry (99) and Annabel Sutherland (137) were the main contributors for the Aussie side in putting up a mammoth total.
In reply, what seemed an uphill task for England batters was made to look very easy by opener Tammy Beaumont slamming a sensational ton off 154 deliveries. Beaumont hammered sixteen fours and also joined a rare list in the process. She became only the second women cricketer after her compatriot and skipper Heather Knight to score a century in all three formats of the game.
However, she has now confessed that she wasn’t aware of the feat and didn’t realise it despite Heather acknowledging her by saying welcome to the club. She further even went on to express her happiness regarding the same and reckoned that ‘it’s nice to tick that one off’.
“[Heather] said to me when I came in the change-room, ‘Welcome to the club’ but I didn’t realise she meant the ‘all three formats’ one, I thought she just meant an Ashes hundred or something,” said Beaumont after the stumps of Day 2.
“It’s always good to look back at personal milestones and it’s nice to tick that one off, it’s something I thought might evade me as I’m coming to the latter half of my career,” she added.
Coming back to the match, Beaumont got great support in the form of Nat Sciver-Brunt (41), and both are still on the crease with England 218/2 in 53 overs.
This article was first published at WomenCricket.com, a Cricket Times company.
