MY STORY

“Each man delights in the work that suits him best.” - Homer

Early Life

I grew up in the countryside of Kent. I enjoyed all sports growing up but was introduced to cricket through my Dad (Andrew) and older brother (Hamish). My Dad was a keen sportsman and excelled in both football and cricket throughout his childhood. We clearly inherited his ability as both Hamish and I were key players in all of our sports teams throughout our school life. My Dad is a hard-working and passionate man and (injury aside) would probably have been able to achieve great success as an elite sportsman in his own right.

Hamish has had a huge effect on me. He is a kind, patient and stoic force in my life and is someone I have often looked at not only as a sibling but as a friend, mentor and teammate. At every opportunity we would find ourselves outside playing in the garden. Our main sports were football and cricket but we pretty much tried everything. Despite the odd bruise and nose bleed we generally got on pretty well and I have many enjoyable memories of those years spent outside.

Without really realising it Hamish started taking on a sort of 'coaching' role from an early age. I distinctly remember being selected in a softball match for my club one summer and spending all day being coached by Hamish with my Kashmir bat on how to rotate the strike in preparation. Going out to bat that evening I felt as if I was walking into the World Cup final! It seemed strange that my teammates didn't seem to be taking it as seriously as I was, a theme I would soon get used to as I got a bit older.

My childhood was incredibly enjoyable and most of my memories have to do with sport. We lived in a small hamlet of houses in the countryside so nearly all of our time was spent outside. We would play and play until it got cold and dark and then switch on the ‘floodlights’ (Mum’s garden lamps) to continue the competition into the night. I would always come in with muddy feet and green knees but it was such an exhilarating feeling to have exerted oneself fully and had plenty of laughs whilst doing so.

Club. County. Country.

When I was around 7 years old my brother was playing for our local club, Castle Hill. Castle Hill was a small cricket club on the outskirts of Tunbridge Wells and had a new but enthusiastic girls team. From playing a few games for the boys I was quickly recognised and began playing with both the boys and the girls on a regular basis. I remember one session distinctly when one of the older girls, Maddie, turned up wearing her Kent Cricket shorts. The words 'Kent Cricket - Young Cricketers' were printed on her shorts. This hit me like a lightning bolt. I was familiar with the Kent Men's team as we had gone along to many of their matches at Canterbury and Tunbridge Wells but I had no idea that there was a Women's team let alone a 'Young Cricketers' team. From that moment on I was hooked and obsessed. I felt it in my bones that I had to play for that team.

Continuing to play for Castle Hill a few years later I was then recognised and invited to trial with Kent U11's. After a softball trial I was selected in the U11 age 9 which was the beginning of a successful 10 year campaign for Kent. I captained my U11 team almost immediately and went on to captain every age group team until U17s when the age groups ran out. I made my Kent Women's Debut in 2015 age 14 years old, playing alongside some of the greats of the game such as Tammy Beaumont, Lydia Greenway and Suzie Bates.

By this point my talent was being acknowledged beyond the County border. I was being noticed by National Selectors and attending multiple tournaments and exhibition trial days which eventually led to an incredible four years on the England Performance Programme from the age of 14-18. I started on the England Under 15 Women's Development Programme and managed to move up every year, being selected for the U19s, the Junior Academy and then the Senior Academy. At age 17 I was being invited to train with the England Women and was clearly being pinpointed as having exciting potential for the next generation of international cricketers.

Burnout. Breakdown. Breakthrough.

As well as being a talented athlete, I have always been a conscientious student as well. I took pride in my academic pursuits and worked the hardest I possibly could have. My family used to have to coerce me away from my books on school holidays as sometimes I would tie myself in knots with the amount of pressure I would place on myself to achieve. Every school holiday followed a structured timetable which I would religiously follow. This took place from about 11 years old. It was and always has been in my nature to be organised, structured and devoted to my routines. This is something that has always stood me in good stead but has also been my own worst enemy at times.

I achieved straight A*s in my GCSE's which was a hell of an achievement considering the sheer volume of athletic training I was also dedicated to at that time. However, the next two years began the building of internal pressure and stress that would eventually lead to my decision to step away from the game I had always loved. After completing two years of intense academic study towards my A Levels whilst also rapidly progressing through the England Pathway - all alongside trying to balance relationships, a social life and 'down time' it all became a bit too much.

I decided to step away from cricket in 2018. In hindsight, I needed a 6 month break. But what followed was 5 years out of the game and pretty much out of sport all together. I never hated cricket, I hated the pressure I put on myself to achieve the best in all areas of my life. I needed a break. And had I not had a break I would never be able to be sitting here ready to shoot my shot again.

"I really think a champion is defined not by their wins but by how they can recover when they fall" - Serena Williams

Return to Cricket

In April 2025 I began working at Lancing College as a Sports Graduate Assistant. This was my first interaction back in the world of sport for 5 years. Whilst the environment was pleasurable and the people were friendly, I knew within the first week that I wasn't ready to be a 'coach' for the rest of my life. I still had an appetite to play that wasn't going to go away any time soon. Through the connections I made at Lancing I was re-introduced to club cricket at Brighton & Hove Cricket Club and quickly began to re-discover my love for the game.

Appointed as Captain within a few games, my appetite for cricket continued to grow. To satisfy my hunger, I started reaching out to a few of my old teammates at Kent. I went from not picking up a cricket bat in 6 years to training twice a week in a semi-professional County setup in the space of 6 months. This was both pleasurable and appropriate for the amount of energy and passion that I was ready to dedicate to the game once more.

Having 5 years away from sport was essential for my growth. In that time I learnt things about myself personally and professionally that I would not have been able to explore had I still been in a high-performance environment. I needed to step away in order to come back stronger. And now, at the age of 25, I am more ready than I ever have been to enter the professional arena with the freedom, passion and intensity I was born to express in this field.