Tammy Beaumont may have been omitted from England’s T20 World Cup squad – not to mention mysteriously overlooked for the captaincy on this effectively “A” tour to Ireland – but no one can dispute her status as the queen of one-day batting.
That much was evident on Monday at Stormont, when she struck an unbeaten record-breaking 150, as England hammered Ireland by 275 runs in the second one-day international.
Beaumont’s century was her 10th in ODIs, making her the first Englishwoman to reach that milestone: overtaking Nat Sciver-Brunt and Charlotte Edwards (nine apiece). She now holds two of the top four highest individual ODI scores for England – the innings on Monday not quite bettering her 168 not out against Pakistan from 2016.
“Since I was about four I’ve been told I can’t do a lot of things and I’ve proved a lot of people wrong,” Beaumont said. “I’ve got nothing left to prove – I’m playing for me, and playing for my teammates. I’ve broken a few records, but I don’t have to keep proving myself, I just have to keep playing and enjoying it.”
Unlike the first ODI on Saturday – a four-wicket England win which had nerves rattling – Beaumont’s innings ensured this game was barely a contest. England struck 320 for eight, and under immense scoreboard pressure Ireland capitulated to 45 all out – their lowest total in women’s ODIs. The win means England have secured enough Championship points to qualify automatically for the 2025 World Cup.
A dispirited Ireland had lost their best three players within the first nine balls of Kate Cross’s opening spell. The England captain extracted enough seam movement to bowl Gaby Lewis and trap Amy Hunter and Orla Prendergast lbw. At the other end, Lauren Filer had the unusual luxury of bowling to a Test-match field – three slips and a gully – and frazzled the Ireland middle-order with her pace, taking three wickets of her own.
By the time the England debutant Georgia Davis got her first chance to bowl at the end of the powerplay, Ireland were already 24 for six. The off-spinner duly took advantage of easy pickings, sneaking through the gate of the 16‑year‑old Alice Tector before wrapping up the innings in the 17th over by trapping the 18-year-old Freya Sargent lbw.
Beaumont’s strength as a player has always been her adaptability, and so it was on Monday. First, she was forced to play the anchor role: after greeting the run-out of her opening partner Emma Lamb by looking to the heavens in despair, she patiently ground out runs. After 25 overs England were 115 for three. “Every time I felt I was ready to go, we lost a wicket,” Beaumont said.
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Then, she played second foil to Freya Kemp – in a partnership of 101. Kemp was handed a big piece of luck early on, after almost colliding with Beaumont mid-pitch and having to dive to make her ground. She took full advantage, pulling with ease as Ireland fed her a diet of short balls, to hit a maiden ODI 50 from just 37 balls.
Having not bowled in the first ODI, Kemp also sent down three overs, picking up two for seven – handy figures for the left-arm seamer who was sent to Ireland by the England head coach, Jon Lewis, in order to rediscover her rhythm before joining the T20 World Cup squad in a few days’ time.
Kemp eventually sent a catch down the throat of long-off but, after bringing up her hundred in the 44th over, Beaumont began her third act: she had taken 117 balls to reach her century, but just 22 to add another 50 runs. England’s total sailed over 300, and Ireland’s hopes were sunk.