I've lost the fire to regain spot in new-look England side - Beaumont

I've lost the fire to regain spot in new-look England side - Beaumont Tammy Beaumont, now 35, has announced her retirement from international cricket following this week’s Test against India. Describing her debut as a whirlwind, she reflected on a career that has seen her bat in every position from one to eleven, win a World Cup, record an Ashes double‑century and now step away at the historic moment of England’s first women’s Test at Lord’s, scheduled to begin on Friday. "It's been an affectional week since I made the last decision," Beaumont told BBC Sport. She recalled feeling uncertain after the previous year’s 50‑over World Cup, saying, "At the extremity of the 50-over World Cup past year, determination were a fewer doubts. I didn't needfully person the lightbulb infinitesimal erstwhile I knew." Beaumont explained that discussions with head coach Charlotte Edwards, whom she referred to as Lottie, helped shape her choice. "But I had a fewer conversations with Lottie [head manager Charlotte Edwards] implicit the past fewer months astir wherever the squad was going and I didn't truly spot myself successful that, truthful I made the determination astur a week ago, to decidedly spell for it." Her journey has been marked by resilience, a trait she jokingly links to her father’s wedding remark, which he used in inverted commas to mean “stubborn.” After an inconsistent start in international cricket, then‑coach Mark Robinson promoted her to open the batting in 2016, a move she says she never looked back from. The following year she became a key member of England’s squad, finishing as the leading run‑scorer in the home‑soil 50‑over World Cup victory. She quickly cemented her place as one of the first names on the teamsheet, valued for her consistency at the top of the order. A shift came in 2022 when she was omitted from the T20 side, causing her to miss the home Commonwealth Games. Earlier this summer, Edwards again left Beaumont out of the one‑day squad for the series against New Zealand, a decision Beaumont said highlighted a growing disconnect. "The stubbornness was not kicking in," she noted. Last week, when men’s Test captain Ben Stokes announced his own retirement, Beaumont found herself drawing parallels. "I deliberation that was the archetypal clip that I had been near retired of a squad and not had that occurrence to spell again, to beryllium radical incorrect 1 much time, and unit my mode backmost in," Beaumont said. She added, "When I heard Ben Stokes talking astir 'going backmost to the well', I don't deliberation I've ever connected with idiosyncratic other more." Reflecting on her mindset, Beaumont said, "I've said galore times that you get knocked down 7 times and get up eight. But that infinitesimal was a spot of a wake-up telephone - the infinitesimal wherever I thought I couldn't support doing it and didn't privation to." Read the full story at BBC News →