'I played in famous Women's Ashes series - it's the start of something special'
Tammy Beaumont has backed England to build on their successful summer after thwarting Australia, the double world champions, in the Women's Ashes.
England were widely expected to lose this summer's series but recovered from 6-0 down to draw 8-8. The hosts also won the ODI and T20I series against the Aussies to complete a superb comeback. Beaumont, who scored a sensational double century in the Ashes Test at Trent Bridge, is proud of what Heather Knight's team achieved this summer.
"It was a really good effort to draw the series, especially given we were 6-0 down," Beaumont tells Mirror Sport on behalf of Initial Washroom Hygiene. "Australia are a really good team, they’ve shown that for years, but all of our thinking and focus throughout the series was about us and what we can do.
"We’ve always been pretty close to them but been on the wrong side of results because we’ve lost the big moments, I think what we did this series was win more of the big moments and we’re very happy to have won both the IT20 and the ODI series.
"An 8-8 draw overall was a pretty good achievement and we were really happy with a lot of the cricket we played - we showed great intent throughout the Ashes and I think that took us forward as a team."
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Unlike the Men's Ashes, which is played over five Tests, the Women's Ashes is decided by a points system. The winners of the Test picked up four points, while two points were on offer for each of the six white-ball games (three ODIs and three T20Is).
Australia won the Test by 89 runs and then claimed the first T20I with just one ball remaining to take a 6-0 lead. Yet England won the next three games to level the contest. Australia's narrow three-run win in the second ODI meant England couldn't win the Ashes, but victory for the hosts in the final game at Taunton ensured the spoils were shared.
The Aussies retained the Ashes having won the previous series, but England were undoubtedly the happier side. Before this summer, Australia's last defeat in any format was in 2021... and they had not lost an ODI series in a decade. Australia have won eight of the last 10 Women's World Cups (across all formats), such is their dominance.
England won the ODI and T20I series (Getty Images)Did you enjoy the Women's Ashes? Let us know in the comments below!
The Aussies have the Women's Big Bash League (WBBL) to thank for much of their glory, which remains the most successful and popular domestic tournament in women's cricket. Other nations have been playing catch up since the WBBL, with England only launching their premier women's cricket competition - The Hundred - in 2021.
While The Hundred's men's competition continues to divide opinion, the women's competition has been a huge success - attracting more than 10,000 spectators on average last year. Those audiences translated into the Women's Ashes, with record attendances achieved. Cricket is playing a crucial role in the growth of women's sport in Britain.
"As Heather Knight said, it (this year's Women's Ashes) was probably the best series in the history of women’s cricket," adds Beaumont. "It was certainly one of the most enjoyable series I’ve played in. Every time you play for England it’s special, but to do it in front of 20,000 fans - it just makes it even better.
"It’s amazing to think we played in a series that sold 110,000 tickets. The noise and the atmosphere was incredible, it really helped us, and I think it’s the start of something special for women’s cricket in England and Wales."
Although England should take the positives out of this summer, it's not all good news. Earlier this month, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) confirmed that no women's Tests will take place at home next summer.
Many fans are disappointed by the ECB's decision, but Beaumont is confident England will be back playing Test cricket on home soil in the coming years. The 2017 World Cup winner continues: "We always love playing Test cricket.
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"The Ashes Test match was so special, especially doing it in front of such a big crowd. I think what that showed - especially with five days - is that women’s Test cricket, like men’s, can be a brilliant product. The way both teams played, as well, was really engaging and entertaining.
"The other side of that coin though is that IT20 cricket in the women’s game has clearly been a huge part of the game’s growth, so there’s a balance, and not every nation in the women’s game wants to or is able to play Test cricket. I am confident we’ll continue to play more Test cricket in the women’s game, and I’m excited about that."
Australia retained the Ashes... but only just (Getty Images)The ECB and Initial have announced their new partnership to ensure period dignity for recreational cricket. Their shared goal is to prevent menstruation from holding people back from sports by providing the proper facilities to stop stigma and taboo.
The partnership will see cubicle period dignity dispensers supplied to grassroots clubs with girls' sections, along with the servicing of period waste bins. These dispensers will give free and discreet access to products within the toilet cubicle at the point of need.
A pilot programme will be launched in Derbyshire with the support of the Derbyshire Cricket Foundation before it becomes a nationwide scheme. "I am actually so excited by our work in this space and our partnership with Initial," says Beaumont.
"I’m really passionate about women’s health and ensuring that women and girls feel able to pursue sport. For so long we’ve been told that sport is for boys and men, and that’s demonstrably wrong. What we’re becoming increasingly aware of is that there can be things that stop women and girls pursuing sport - and sometimes that can be health-related.
"I can totally see as a young girl that you may not want to go to cricket training if you’re on your period, and what we can hopefully show through our partnership with Initial is that that’s normal, and that’s fine, but a) you can still play and b) here are some things to help you continue playing.
"Initial will be putting in-cubicle dispensers at club cricket grounds, so girls will be able to access period products if they’re in need, and hopefully – as well as also being very practically useful – that continues to normalise periods and our conversation around them.
"We, as the England Women’s cricket team, can be role-models to those younger girls in saying, ‘Yes, this happens, and it’s fine, and it doesn’t need to be a barrier to playing cricket’. Hopefully the partnership will help bring more women and girls into cricket, and also help those who are in the game feel more supported and more united."
For more information, please visit www.initial.co.uk.
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