England’s top-order batter Tammy Beaumont has decided to step away from international cricket, and the upcoming one-off Test against India women at Lord’s will be her last game for the country. The veteran right-handed batter has called time on her 17-year-long career. She finishes as England’s leading centurion in ODIs with 12 hundreds. Beaumont, 35, was the leading run-getter for England in their successful 2017 ODI World Cup campaign.
She had scored 410 in nine matches, averaging 45.55, including a hundred and a fifty at a strike rate of 76.92. Beaumont was adjudged the Player of the Tournament for her impact.
“Playing for England for nearly 17 years has been the greatest honour,” Beaumont said in her statement.
“When I fell in love with playing cricket as a young girl, I barely knew that playing cricket for England was an option and it brings me so much joy to think how many girls and boys have been inspired, this summer especially, and how far the game has come in our country.
“We’ve always wanted to take the cap forward for the next generation and the time has come for me to hand over that privilege to the next generation of England players. This Test match at Lord’s – our first-ever women’s Test at Lord’s – feels like the perfect occasion to sign off on a career that I could never have dreamt would be as special as it has been.”
Beaumont made her Test debut against Australia women in Wormsley in August 2013. She has played 11 Tests and aggregated 612 runs, averaging 34.00, including a century and two fifties. Her ODI debut came against West Indies in Basseterre on November 4, 2009. She has amassed 4738 runs in 140 one-dayers, averaging 40.49, including 12 centuries and 24 fifties.
Her T20I debut also came against Windies in Basseterre on November 9, 2009. She has played 109 T20Is and scored 1975 runs, averaging 24.08 at a strike rate of 110.08, including a hundred and 11 fifties.
ECB hails Tammy Beaumont for inspiring next generation
ECB’s managing director of England women, Clare Connor, heaped praise on Beaumont and called her a wonderful role model for kids growing up.
“Tammy has made a remarkable contribution to the England Women’s cricket team and we will miss her incredibly,” said Connor.
“It is impossible to put into words or measure the impact Tammy has had on our sport. She played her first few years for England as an amateur, one of only a few players left whose international careers were forged through extraordinary levels of devotion and commitment and love of the game.
“I know how much it has meant to Tammy to pull on the three lions and to help England win. She has always remained connected to the grassroots of the game and why she herself started playing. In so doing, she has been a wonderful role model, always wanting to inspire the next generation.”
