Test Match Special - No Balls: The Cricket Podcast - Crossy's 5-for, Tammy Beaumont, and messy flats

Episode Date: July 6, 2021

Superstar batter Tammy Beaumont joins Kate and Alex for a chat as they reflect on the recent ODI series vs India. Plus, Alex wishes she'd kept Kate's flat a little bit tidier...

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looking for Hartley Falls down the track comes scoring this time she connects it's either six or out it's six hello and welcome back to No Bowls the Cricket podcast with me Alex Hartley and you Kate Cross hello how are you I'm all right thank you how are you I am happy for once why what's happened Well, obviously we had Muggate last week. Yep.

But you're home and you have your mug. I'm home. Here is my mug. Cheers. Cheers. Coffee cast. Yeah. Should have been a wine cast last night, shouldn't it? Should have been a wine cast last night.

But you're home. How are you? Because you've obviously had a really, really good series with the old white ball. Have we recorded one since then? No, we haven't. Last one was pre-ODI. series. Sorry, I tell a lie, we just played our first game, hadn't we? We'd just be in you in the first ODII. But yeah, honestly, I am drained. Like, this week has taken it out of me

emotionally, more than physically, like we do all the training for the physical stuff. We talk about that. We talk about fitness. But I was so not prepared for doing well in cricket. I was just not prepared to be really good. Well, I've just, I've not had a series like that. Like I've always, we speak about this all the time. I've always been kind of fighting for my shirt, trying to keep hold of my shirt. And then I've had a series where I've come out of it really well. And I'm shocked.

So for anybody that doesn't know, you actually need, because people that listen to this podcast now won't necessarily watch you play because we're kind of a big deal with the BBC. You know, we've got more listeners. So tell people what you've done. I'd rather not. I'd rather you do it. Oh, she's such a liar.

Right. So Crossie took five for, five for 34 off your ten overs. One of the most bizarre fifers I've actually ever witnessed. Someone tweeted the BBC actually saying one of the worst fiefers that they've ever seen. And I was, I nearly agreed with them. No, it wasn't because the pressure you'd built before your wicket balls caused the big shots and the crap cricket shots. Well, that's what I think gets lost a little bit. When you watch the highlights, when you watch the five wickets, there's only like,

mitya ball but the rest of them and even so she chops on it was like an absolute jaffer to get her out but the rest of them I remember the ball was in the air for a long time for all of the wickets and I'm like oh god someone could drop this oh god I could drop this oh god Heather nearly dropped that your court and bald was a belter yeah it was a good one and it was to get rid of my twin harm and prete so that was a nice little yeah I was happy with that one um but yeah it was an odd fiper but I think like you said my role in that team is a really boring really lentless role of just trying to hit the stumps and just trying to create pressure and ball dot balls. And then when you take away all of that stuff and just put the wickets in,

it did look a bit crap. But you've got another international Fifer. And I think the stat is only the fourth person to get to Pfeas for England, something like that. Seventh, I think. I made it up. Good to see it in your research though. Yeah. Well done you. Thank you. Because I was so proud of you. And I hate to admit it, but I wasn't on air and I got I got really emotional. Well, Henry, our new boss, actually interviewed me after the game. And he started talking about you and I'm like,

am I going to get an interview about my cricket that doesn't involve you? And I just don't think it's going to happen now because we come as a pair. We do. And I got so many tweets when you got your five of being like, you should have used a mug earlier. Well, so many people tweeted me because that morning I messaged you and I was like, right, we need to sort this no-balls celebration out. We spoke about it on the pod

and I didn't do anything in the first game because I forgot. And take the first wicket and I forget to do it again in the second game. But I said, right, let's do something about this mug. This bloody mug, let's do something. So I'll do the tea celebration. Drink a cup of tea.

Yeah, pretend to drink a cup of tea. It didn't actually look like I was drinking a cup of tea when I did it because I put your pinky out. Yeah, because I was trying to be dead pot drinking tea. And honestly, all the girls ran in and they were like, what was that? What are you doing? I was like, it was for Harley.

it doesn't matter. So you didn't even say it was for the podcast? No, no, no, no. They knew that. They were like, well, what is it? They knew it would be about the mug. And I was like, yeah. And someone tweeted me, my favorite tweet of the week was, someone tweeted me saying,

did Crossie just tell Hartley not to use her mug live on the telly? And you tweeted back saying, yes. Yes, she did. Yes, she did. Podcast purposes, everybody. Yeah. And then, so you've taken five for you were absolutely brilliant. You play another ODI.

And then. You absolutely smashed it with bat, batting at number 11. And I've been saying the whole series, we've got the best world 11, one to 11, best batting line up. I know you want to because we went out for a drink last night and you watched your innings back three times. It was on the TV in the hotel that we were in. And you're like, watch this one, this one goes for six.

Actually, the one before that, I was saying the one I hit for four was a better shot. I got hold of the six. Sheffali did me a massive if ever been 20 yards in off the road. but the four was a better shot. I do want to talk about a tweet that I received, though, earlier, before I took my fifer, someone tweeted me saying that I am the gymination of the female cricket world, good on social media, crap at cricket. Wow.

And it was, I thought it was quite a funny tweet, actually. I mean, you are good on social media. Yeah, and I am also a bit crap at cricket sometimes. So it works, but it made me laugh. And then I took the fifer, and I was like, oh, yours. Better gymenetian. Yeah. I tweeted on the no-ball's account

Crossy do something when you went out to bat and I cannot tell you how many people were like this aged well she did something so you hit six you've now hit as many sixes as Laura Marsh in ODI cricket

and more sixes than Dame Charlotte Edwards my most importance that the one that I'm the most proud of is that I have hit more international sixes than you Well, speaking of that, someone's tweeted me, wow, where does this come from, Kate Cross? Kate Cross now has one more six in her ODI career than Alex Ali has ever hit in her ODI career.

It's not hard. It isn't hard, it's not. But the one thing that I really want to bring up at this point is the tops cards for the hundred. This is where my argument comes into fruition because how you score higher than me on the standard issues, tops card in batting is beyond me my shiny i'm up i'm above you which i'm happy because you're like famous you've got a shiny i got shiny yeah but but how you score and i tweeted them and i was like how how have you measured this i even bat above you so it's really unlikely that you should be a higher batting mark than me cross-head all i can say on the situation is it's not what

you know it's who you know oh yeah yeah i've actually got something on my stick you know that one I thought to you about. So two things, actually. I have noticed, and it doesn't come across in the podcast, but anyone that listens to you commentate will know about this, but you have developed a BBC voice in the last six months. And I think we need to discuss it, because why? I don't know.

Do you think, right, actually, I do know. I work with Henry Moran, who produces this podcast, and Izzy Westbury, the two poshest people I've ever met, right but and I think it just I think I changed you know if people go to Australian they come back with a twang and you're like shut up mate you have not got a twang I think I

I think I've got a posh twang it's not posh though it's like someone has put batteries in you and those batteries are kind of running out a little bit because you get really loud and then you have these gaps in your

voice like this and I just I think you need to get rid of it I think you need to start being authentic again. Do you think I'm going to lose my job? I don't think you'll lose your job, but this is you. This is how you chat. Yeah, it is. I feel like I'm like this on air, though.

No, you're not. Okay, right. I'll try and do my BBC voice. What a, what a ball from getting cross. I can't, I can't do it. The other thing I want to talk to you about, am I sticking out? Oh, no.

You had a few wines the other night. And you'd played it all Trafford during the day. This is not what I thought it was going to be. We played a week. you played a double header. You took two-fer, the boys played afterwards, and Tom Hartley, who is no relation to you, but plays for Lancashire.

Left-arm spinner. Left-arm spinner, took for-for. And Lancashire tweeted, saying, great to see the Hartley's doing well. And you replied, and I knew you'd had some wines, but also you are dyslexic, so there's a faded line there. Yeah.

You tweeted saying, good to see someone is carrying the surname, and you spelt surname, S-I-R, new word, N-A-M-E surname So I message you going Hey hon

Are you meant to have said surname here And I spout the surname How you're supposed to And you're like Oh hell Delete I have got the screenshot

I did say surname As in sir Sir Surname Yeah Look we don't know if it was The dyslexia Or the wine

But I did do that And I deleted it quickly, but somebody had already liked it. I was like, oh no, surname. Tom Hartley would have read that and gone, what? What the hell is that? He probably didn't even know who I am. He probably thinks you really rate yourself thinking you've got a surname. Hartley is so, so up there. Oh, no, right. There is one thing I want to talk about, and I want to just do it quickly. Before we go into our emails, you have a bone to pick with me, and I want you just to do it quick because it, I'm sad about it

Okay, I'm sad about it actually Because this is the second week now That I've had a bit of a gripe with you Oh no, what? Well, the mug Oh, yeah, yeah And then I got released from the squad On Saturday after the last ODI

I'm not in the T20 squad And got the opportunity to come home Wasn't expecting it And you were not expecting me to come home Really, really wasn't expecting it The only person probably on the planet who expected me to be in the T20 squad by the sound of it. However, let me talk. You just put your hand up.

I just palmed me. I just palmed you. You text me and you said, I'm a bit worried that the flat's in a bit of a mess. I'm going to race you home. I don't know how you thought you were going to race me home because you had a match to play. So I knew I'd get home before you. So I'm in the car for two and a bit hours. I'm really looking forward to get my own space back coming home, back to my flat.

Can I just say my heart rate's gone up to 8, 4 beats per minute? I get in. I couldn't get my coughing through the door because you'd left your wardrobe door open with your shoes out. I then managed to stumble my way in. I've got four bags on me. It was a bit traumatic getting up three flights of stairs with all that stuff.

I go into my bedroom. My bed's been stripped because people had stayed in my flat, said night where the surname night where you'd had a few wines. People had been in my bed. So I've got no duvet, no pillows there on the floor. and I know when you just get back from tour all you want to do you just lie on your bed

then so that's only four metres in my flat I've already come across two things so I don't have stuff in my room I come into the living room not horrendous not tied at the living room hadn't been hoovered could tell

go into the kitchen the cupboard doors are open who isn't that much of a rush that they don't shut a cupboard door with dirty laundry all over the kitchen floor toaster's left out with a par for piece of toast on the floor

and I was shocked because you bang on and bang on and bang on about you this clean freak and you love cleaning and that's how you get your anxiety down and you're a fraud I found you out you're an absolute fraud do you know what so yeah I'm not I'm not a fraud and I have it's played on my mind my heart rates through the roof because I've been like I've been in and out this flat I come in it's a dumping ground is what it is, I come in, I empty my suitcase, I pack another one and I leave again for cricket, commentary, whatever it is. So over the last three weeks, I've been here as much as you have, basically. Well, that's a lie, because I've not been here for three weeks. Yeah, slash,

I've been here for one or two nights. Had this night out Thursday, people ended up staying, so I was like, right, I need to wash her bed in because she's back on Monday or Tuesday. Don't know why I thought that, just had Monday or Tuesday in my head. I was like, put the bedding in the wash. There was stuff in the washing machines. I pulled it out because it was there, wash your bedding because that was the priority to make you bed on Sunday before your arrival home in the week and you beat me home

not only did I have to come back and make my own bed the first thing I had to do was make my own bed I had to throw away some mouldy limes that were in the fruit bowl and I had to put your laundry away it was not a great day off but you know what we're over it

I'm only going to talk about it for another four weeks and then we're done Okay. And I am sorry. I actually messaged you loads and loads and loads, being like, I'm really sorry. And I did try and deflect the situation with a story, but it didn't work. No. And also, I think you tried to make up for it this morning by just getting the hoover out and starting hoovering around. No, I went into the kitchen. I was like, what a bit. Honestly, there's like half a loaf of bread on the pool. No, it's all right. But I do think the toaster should live on the kitchen top. No, it's too big. Okay. Anyway, that is that. And I think it's time for some emails. Week number four with the BBC argument. number two. We need to go upstairs with umpire Chris this week because Charlotte Edwards has been in touch

and she absolutely loves the podcast. Charlotte Edward? She just started listening to the pod we're going to get her on and she was with umpire Chris

over the weekend and she sent me a selfie with him and she was like, told him all about no balls he absolutely loves it and I love the fact that I'm with umpire Chris right now so today we're dedicating this one

to umpire Chris what and Charlotte Edwards is up there waiting yeah she's with him she's with him she's got the camera ready she's with him Great. Okay then. Well, question number one, we've had an email. And the subtitle is, subject is, rats and pigs. Love it. Love it. But I think it's a long one. Do you want me to read it? Yeah. Hi, Kate and Alex. I love the podcast and I'm a new listener on BBC Sounds

and I'm enjoying a new TMS show to listen to. Apart from when Alex said that she was wearing Kate's knickers. I wasn't. I'm interested to hear more about this rat and pig hypothesis from Kate. She started off by saying that people can be categorized as one of two, but then said it's a spectrum. Surely you can't be a spectrum if it's a binary categorization, perhaps more clarity needed. So this is where the theories develop. So as I've been telling this story for the last three years and this theory, it started off with pigs and rats. And then we realized that you can't just have it. That's too simple. It needed the spectrum. And there is actually three categories because of the riglets. Someone actually messaged me going, am I a piglet? I was like, I don't know.

That's something else. Yeah, that's something else. I don't know what that is. Anyway, it goes on to say, also, you didn't really explain what makes someone a rat or a pig. Is it a facial slash appearance thing or is it to do with personality?

Absolutely nothing to do with personality. I do not go around calling people pigs because of their personality. It's purely based on their face. Mostly their nose. The nose gives a lot away. Cheeks give a lot away and like mouth and chin. I mean, if it was anything,

you wouldn't want to call yourself a rat or a pig really no personality so yeah it's facially what you look like yeah the one thing i'm most pleased about is that no one has really taken too much offence by it a lot of people have bought into this theory which i'm really pleased about it's because it's a true thing it is true it's absolutely true and also if it was based on personality you would be a pig because you are so messy and you are disgusting hi guys you mugs being loving the pod and really enjoy your commentary slash performances in the India series over the last three weeks.

We've done well there, Crossie. A little fist pump. I'm adding a further element to the mug situation. My partner Charlotte has the same first initial as me, Callum. So when I go around and make a cup of tea, I often use the C mug claiming it has my initial on it.

Am I in the right or am I in the wrong? She doesn't seem to mind, but does when I use the Charlotte mug. It's a difficult one because C does work It works for both of them However whoever bought that mug Or if that mug was bought as a present

Then that's the person Who's mug that belongs to Okay I also have a question Cricket related Regarding caps If you're on as a subfielder But you haven't yet made your England debut

And therefore haven't received your cap Do you get to wear one Or is it reserved for those that have been presented With one only Keep up the top chat All the best, Callum Funny story about caps So in our test match, we have got the worst caps.

No, no, no. We got the worst caps. But our test caps are like the velvet, pristine test, standard test cap. We don't have baggy blues, like the Aussies have baggy greens or like the men have because we need to have a ponytail hole. So we've got separate different caps. Anyway, we had some new caps ordered for this test match. And they came, and honestly, they were like a new era baseball hat.

They were horrendous. You couldn't play tech. They weren't horrendous. caps. There weren't test match cricket caps. You couldn't play test match cricket in them. Then we had a panic the night before the test match because I downright refused to wear this hat, but Dunks was making a debut and we were like, we can't leave Dunks out there with a new era, truck a hat on. It just cannot happen. I mean, you could. Imagine. Ducks would rocket. Yeah, she would, to be fair. But we then had to have an emergency. Someone had to go to Anya's house, someone from Anya's family,

go and collect old test cap so that Dunks could wear this cap. And, you know, and, and, you know, So the one that was presented to her wasn't her actual test cap. So you didn't wear the new era ones? No, we didn't wear. No, we wore the old ones. Did you? So Dunk's actually her test cap that got presented to her, she didn't wear. That was one of, she got presented one of Anya's old hats to her. So she didn't, she hasn't got her proper test cap yet.

That is so village. It's really village. But going back to that question, you always get an ODI 80-20 hat in your training kit bundle that comes in your kit bundle. so you'll always have one, but it just won't have your number on the side until you get your debut. So dunks throughout that whole test match on our test match debut

was wearing and your Shrub's Sal's cap. Yes. Wow. Hi Kate and Alex. Hope you both well. Love seeing you both smash it at the moment. My question is, how do you leave a team where your friends are at

but you're not happy with your game time and are always looking to improve? Thanks so much for your time and that's from Fay. I would liken this to your situation where you left Lancashire where your friends were but you wanted to improve your cricket so you move to Middlesex. Maybe, like, we might see a bit more of it in the 100 now where people move around.

You're not necessarily playing with the team that you grew up with. It's actually quite an easy thing to do, I think. I mean, it was hot. I cried when I left flanks, but you just adapt. People move on. So all I can say is, like, when I lost my England contract, it was really sad, and I was not part of that team, but that team moves on without you.

Like, they carry on, whether you're there or not. It's funny, isn't it? I remember when Lottie, when she got removed from the team pretty much, Robo said to us, he was like, she's not died. She's still Charlotte Edwards. She's still there. You can still text her if you need to,

but she's not part of this team anymore. And it is a really odd thing when people retire or leave dressing rooms. But I think we've probably had a look, whether it's a luxury or not actually, but in the women's game, we've not had the ruthlessness of people moving teams for money or for performance or, you know,

moving house, things like that. We've not really had that yet. I think we're going to see more of it now with the 100 and with the Rachel Hayo Flint Trophy and things like that with the regional teams. So Faye will let you know in a couple of years. Yeah, listen back. Listen back in 2025.

Dear Alex and Kate, I'm very old than a long time devotee of TMS. I have just discovered this podcast. I have no idea what it is, but never mind. It's lovely. It cheers me up. It makes me smile and makes every day seem better. Thank you both. And also for your cricket, of course, Philip.

Nice. Thanks. Hey, both. I hope you're doing well. and not going too insane in bubble life. Long-time listener, first-time email it to the new email address. No Bowlspodcast at BBC.co.com. Noblespodcast at BBC.com. It's so good. They said it twice.

So much easier when we're together. Yeah. I've got two things that I want to ask. Number one, can I shamelessly ask for some good look ahead of my final exams which are in the next couple of weeks? No. Number two. Good look.

I also have a cricket question. In the first two ODIs, I thought Kate Bowls really well. in both, but only got the big rewards in the second match. Massive congratulations on the five bag, by the way. So did you find it hard to motivate yourself after the first game, given that you bowed so well but only got the one wicket? And how good did that make the five for feel on Wednesday? Thanks for all you two keep doing, George.

Funny, because you actually said to me that you bowled better in the first game than the five for game. Yeah, genuinely, I think I bowled my best spell in that first game. But I think, again, this just sums up how ludicrous cricket is sometimes because you never get the rewards that you often deserve. And this happens with batting, bowling. But you can bowl the spell of your life and get nonfer and you can bowl a pile of crap and take a six foot. It happens and it's odd. I didn't bowl a pile of crap for my five, I'm not saying that. No, you ball very well. And I think I said it in an interview that I did actually,

but I knew going into this series that I've been bowling really well. And I knew I had the backing of Heather and I knew that I had, you know, Tim, our bowling coach and Lisa's backing. as well. And I was so clear on my role in this team. And anyone that followed the 2019 World Cup, I've basically got the Liam Plunkett role. Yeah. I've got the coming in in the middle over just being really tight, trying to build pressure and trying to create pressure for other bowlers. Just ball line length. Literally, yeah. And sometimes... Don't bowl cut balls. Don't bowl cut balls. Sometimes you, well, more often than not, you don't get rewards for that role and you do the kind of underlying job for a Sophie Eccleston

or a Catherine Brunt at the other end. So I was so pleased to have had my day out because I've not had one for a very long time. It was probably needed. But I think the conversations that then happen in the dressing room, everyone understands what my role is and knows that if I only pick up a one for, that's still a good day for me. If you bowl one for 30, one for 40, 1 for 45, you've done a good job.

Oh, that's my job. But it is, I didn't want to come across, like I was saying, it was a crap role to have in the team because there's no crap role that you can have in an England shirt. You've had to adapt your role that you, for your whole life, have been an opening bowler. Yeah. And you've had to change.

When you play for us in the Northwest Sunday, you open the bowling. You've had to change and adapt. And the fact, you've done that and you've had the reward for it. Kudos. Yeah. And often, in the role that I have as well now with England, you'll have a Shafali and a Mandarly and a Mandar. are still in and they're 60 for none and you have to come on and try and break that

partnership which you keep doing well my favorite thing actually that's come out this week which I'm probably the most proud of is the fact that people keep saying that I make things happen and I know that it's become a hashtag on the BBC and I absolutely bloody love that because it's a tough role to have it's not an enjoyable role sometimes because in that situation you literally can't really win because if they then smoke you around well you've not done your job but honestly do something do something make it happen but speaking of it of making it happen before we bring in this week's guest. Hi Kate and Alex. I love your show. Congratulations to Kay on her great fibre. I hope you're both coming to us this summer.

Crossy, you're my favourite Pombola. Alex, you're my favourite commentator. Cheers from a Chile south coast of W.A. Well, make it happen. You know, BBC, make me go. England. Make Crossy go. We'll see you out there, Greg. Fingers crossed. Because we actually have a big winter, haven't we? We've got the ashes. We've got Pakistan trip first and we've got the ashes and then we've got a World Cup on the back of an ashes. So my God, if I've done three weeks with England now and I'm tired, imagine what I'm going to be like in January. I can't wait for Crosser. You're opening the bowling for North West London in May. No, I'm not. I need three months off. Shall we introduce today's guest? Let.

Hartley, it is my pleasure to introduce a guest who we have actually had on this podcast before. You're our first time. Second time. No, you're our second time first guest on No Bowles a podcast. We've got World Cup winner, Ash's winner. Tammy Beaumont, welcome to No Bulls. Thanks for having me guys. It's good to be back, although last time

it wasn't quite like this. But yeah, it's great to be on again. Well, we've been waiting actually because we've been telling you for about a year that we're going to get you on and we just will wait in for you to be the world's best cricketer and then we're like, now we'll have her on. You nearly missed the boat. Lizelle Lee took it for her a couple of weeks, didn't she?

No, we're going to get on to that, don't you worry. So for all the day one listeners, Tammy was one of the initial players who used to voice notice. And you had a funny story, didn't you? Was it you watched your dad take guard and he's a left-hander, and you just went in and took guard and copied your dad? Yeah. Back when I was like, yeah, my first ever game for Kent. So I've been playing a lot of boys cricket, and obviously that's not that serious.

You just go out there. But the day I got the call up for Kent under 11s, I thought, you know, I've got to do it seriously. I've got to take guard. Yeah, took guard left-handed because the only person I'd ever really watch play was my dad. They set the field and I'd turn around and they... I'll tell you what, you've mulled people at the age of 11 and I like it. Love it. Odds on, you doing that in the first T20?

Could you imagine? I mean, if they've not noticed that you're right-handed by now, then someone's losing a job somewhere. Now, you are top of the ICC rankings, is the world's best ODI batter. But you had your first duck the other day since 2016. I mean, how amazing, though, that you haven't had a duck since 2016

as an opening batter? Yeah, it was a terrible shot, though. No, we don't need to talk about that. We don't need to talk about that. That's a good stat, that. It's an incredible start, and as an opening batter, it's actually incredible. And often, a lot of batters go the other words,

like they score their first run since 2016. So it's great from Utah. Let me. We're actually saying on air the other day that you have scored more runs than I will my entire career, like in like one game, two games, this series. And I was just like, you know what?

Some people are born for it. Some people aren't. Yeah, but come on, guys. You've both seen me bowling the net, so I'm never going to take an international wicket. We often get asked on the pod, like who's the worst bowler in the England's squad who's not a bowler and we actually say that you're the one that gives it the best go you come in

and you're keen to get your overs up you're keen to have your spike and your workload i was about to say if you were going to say it was me i was going to be having words ladies oh no it's fran wilson every day of the week i always see are you still bowling filthy hobbies oh i mean they don't spin but yeah neither do not what is your bowling ranking on the top trump cards for the hundred well I don't know I haven't looked but I can't imagine it's great to be honest it was a bit of discrepancy because Lauren Winfield has got a better bowling mark than Amy Jones and we're just like where have these numbers come from that's true actually how have they come up with it I mean did they watch the charity match where I got Fifer is that

is that time drop that in there I love that where they're getting it from but no I mean it's a tough one it's a tough one I would say Amy Jones is probably a better bowler but she also throws it so illegal yeah right let's get on to some real serious stuff now because you don't come on no balls to talk about cricket you used to live with hartley and we need to know what's the best story best bit of gossip that you've got to tell all our listeners there are no stories to be left untold tammie oh i feel like it's a kind of my favorite one is probably i love it already five months of nights out probably um i mean the time I had to sleep in my car because Hartley wouldn't get up and let me in because she'd left

the key in the lock. It was a good one. I'd driven back three hours from like the Kent presentation evening and she'd left the key in the door and it was like 2am and I just wanted to get in. She only woke up when I rang the house phone. Who has the house phone? Yeah I know. You needed it for the internet obviously. No, yeah. How I knew the number, I don't know. How many keys did you have while you lived at mine? You lived there, what, 18 months? Yeah, I had a few. Five house keys. Yeah, I did.

I went through a phase of going on a night out and losing a lot of keys. I actually ended up going and getting like five cut at once just in case I lost another. So my favourite one was you'd gone out. I wasn't there this week, I think, and you thought you'd lost your key. So we lived a little bit out of town,

like a 40-minute walk from town, and she walked all the way back into town to stay at someone else's house and got literally lied down on the same. sofa and felt something in her pocket she's like oh that's really painful what is it was her house key god's sake this is what i've got to look forward to now because obviously she's moved in with me so this is what i've got my keys are expensive by the way it's 60 pound for the one downstairs so don't lose that well you can do what you learn to do al because from this state of losing like

five keys in a few months she started tying it to her shoelaces when she went out Brilliant idea But obviously she gets back late at night I'm in bed by now I've got work in the morning And I come down to the door And there's just a shoe Hanging

Underneath the lot Because she's basically just taking her shoe off And got in the house And left it there I did have to have chum You never realise You think it's a good idea Until your shoes in the door

And you're still attached to your foot And you can't Yeah not good Not good And then I think Tammy was like Right Al you need to, you keep waking me up now. Move out. I've got cricket training.

You get booted out? No, no, I didn't get booted out. No, she's always welcome. She was a good house, mate. As I'm sure we'll come on to, I'm very messy, and Alex didn't complain, and tidied it out. Interesting you say that, Tam, because Hartley bangs on so much about being a clean freak, and I got back yesterday, and this flat looked like a bomb had hit it. It's a sore subject, and it hurts me. Like, I'm hurt about that. It's not for our chat with you, though, Tam. So we've been saying on air the whole time during this series, you have a career of two halves.

So before Mark Robinson and post Mark Robinson. So before Mark Robinson, you batted from 1 to 11, literally, and then Robo came in and in all the eyes, you've just opened the batting. What do you think changed the most between, well, Robo taking over and before Robo was involved? Yeah, I mean, I've called myself Tammy 2.0 at times. It's pretty obvious. I think I went from averaging about 13 to whatever I am now. But the big one with Robber, I think, was, you know, he came in and he just believed in me. Before that, it was, he'd play a couple of games. If you didn't get runs, you were out again, kind of whether the team had done well or not.

You never really got to run inside. And Robber just came in and he kind of made it very simple. He basically said, you're right, you're going to open it. T-20s, if you get out caught mid-on, I'll pat you on the back, it doesn't matter. If you get out facing like 10 or 20 balls and trying to nudge a single to the leg side, then we will have a few issues sort of thing. So it just made it really clear on, A, how he wanted me to do it, but also how it was acceptable to fail.

And once you kind of have that understanding, you can really relax and let yourself go. I think before that it was always, go do what you do, go do what you do. and as a young 20-year-old, I actually didn't really understand what I did, didn't really know what I did. So, yeah, it was kind of go out there, a bit of guesswork, and then I used to get incredibly nervous

and do absolutely nothing that was what I did sort of thing. You actually, on your England debut, batted at 10, did you? Yeah, I think, yeah, it might have been 9, but I slipped down to 11 quite quickly. Wow. So what do you think,

when do you think the turning point was? Was there a game? Was there a moment? Was it in a match in training when do you reckon it was that kind of flipped that mindset for you? I think probably looking back, it's probably before Robbo came in really. There was ashes, 2013 ashes,

and we did win that ashes, but I only played in the test match, but it once got one, and then played in the ODI that we lost at Lords. And I remember there was like Heather Knight got run out while I was at the crease, and there was like another couple of wickets. I just remember being like, if I don't win us this game, we're, I'm going to get dropped.

And by then we need like seven over, it was spinning. And I did get out and I didn't win us the game. And I sat on the balcony at Lords and just like cried my eyes out to our assistant coach at the time, Carl Crow. And I was like, am I even good enough to be here? You know, what's the point? Like, I'm just not good enough. I should just give up now. And he kind of said, no, go away.

Think about what you really want in cricket and, you know, set some goals. and I want to hear about it. We're going to go for, there's an infamous coffee now in a pub in Loughborough. We went for lunch and I remember telling him like, and I was embarrassed to say it. Like he took, he actually had to like pull it out of me.

I was like, I want to be the best opening batter in the world. And at the time I was batting six and averaging like 12. And he said, right, well, what have we got to do to get there? And we literally like wrote it all down. And it was like, right, you've got to be better at this. You've got to do this.

And at the time, there was like no chance I was going to be opening the batting for England. And it was just everything we did from then was just, right, what's going to make me the best opening batter in the world? So then when I kind of got the chance with Robbo, I'd already been thinking about it and about how I wanted to go about it. So, yeah, certainly that was a big turning point, really. They're the stories that I absolutely love because then that's the stuff that people don't realize

when they see that you're top of the ICC rankings, like what that means to you and how many years of hard work has gone into that to get you there. so like how did you feel when you got when you got the tweet or whoever told you that was it Henry that told you your top yeah so I think I was doing an interview and it was like it wasn't announced yet but Henry Cowan our media manager absolutely amazing man um Henry two fingers for anyone that listens to the podcast he um yeah just dropped me a text literally minutes before because they were like they might ask you about it and I was like sorry what um yeah it was so surreal. I think having said that, you know, being the best opening battle in the world was my goal.

I think a couple of years ago, I got to the point where I was like, I might never achieve it, but it's something that I'm striving towards. Just because looking around the world, there's so many amazing batters now and I can't control what they do. And, you know, you look at Schmidti Mandana, she's got an unbelievable technique. You know, Alyssa Healy's doing really well. You know, you can just put all these girls in the mix. So for me, it was like being the best that I could, and it had almost gone out of my brain that it could even happen. So yeah, it was really surreal.

Did you speak to Crowey? Because obviously you set that goal with Crowey. Did you then go, did you ring him and go, oh my God, don't it? Yeah, I took a screenshot of the tweet and just sent it to him. And he was kind of standard Crowey, really. He was just like, I always knew it.

I'm just like, well, I didn't. Oh, it's an amazing achievement, Tammy. Like, you should be incredibly proud of yourself. But how did you feel when two days later, Lazzell Lee was then top of the ICCLDI rankings? It was two weeks, Al. Come on. I counted the days. No, actually, I remember looking at the rankings and going, so I saw the points and I just said, well, it's nice that I've got it,

but I'm not going to have it next month because I knew like Meg Lanning was playing. But basically everyone in the top five was playing cricket next month, and I was like, well, they're going to just overtake me. So it never was in my head that I would kind of have it for a long time. So when it did happen, I wasn't surprised at all. So when you set a goal like that to be best in the world at what you do and then you achieve it, what happens next? Like what do you do?

Where do you go from there? Yeah, that's a really tough one, isn't it? I think... Be worst in the world. You can go back down and... Yeah, who can be the quickest to go back down? No, definitely not. I think obviously it's always been a broad goal

but at the moment obviously you know we're heading towards a World Cup and we won the last one obviously so yeah it's kind of real more team goals this time in terms of me contributing to winning for England and hopefully kind of yeah putting a really good campaign in the World Cup and then from there we'll kind of see what happens.

You're obviously in unbelievable form like since 2019 you have averaged your average is 300 or something it's ridiculous same as my bowling average when you're in 4 how do you maintain it do you worry about losing it like what is your mindset when you're trading and you're going out to bat yeah I think so I've said it a few times recently like I've started to not really believe in form anymore

because I think for the last two years it's all been about how I am mentally I think I've always got a few weaknesses in my technique but it's a case of how you are mentally you can just kind of get away with them a little bit particularly in one day cricket I think T20 is very different but in one day cricket I think it's all about how your mindset is and how you go about it and if my mindset is strong

and resilient and wanting to bat for a long time and not just look pretty then I'm normally going all right so I don't really believe in form anymore which I think's controversial but do you think you've got a better balance in life obviously now you've got a dog a fella like you've got stuff going

outside of cricket, has that helped you? Yeah, I think so, which is actually a bit surprising because when I was younger, I never played well when I had a boyfriend. It was like too much of a distraction. Oh, yeah. It was actually a little bit... Yeah, I bet he was.

But they were never on tour. Yeah, so it was actually a little bit of a worry bringing Callum into the environment, really. I was like quite stern with my preparation and stuff, but he's pretty laid back. But yeah, I think it really does, it does help. because I think quite often you end up with, you know, your sport, cricket as your identity and, you know, like, Crossy and myself both know, been for a tough time in the past and, yeah,

like kind of clinging on to the fact that you were only a cricketer and if cricket's not going well, then it kind of becomes the be all and end all and can get you quite down. So having other things, you know, being a girlfriend, being a dog mum, potentially being business owner in the future, I think it does really help that, you know, if you do get a duck, it's not the end of the world, you know, and if things aren't going well, you've got outlets to relax in. On that form thing,

we actually had a really interesting chat on the pitch at Taunton, didn't we? You were fielding up point. I was at short third. And I said to the time, I was like, I felt really anxious today. I had a really terrible warm up. I didn't know where the ball was landing when I was bowling. And you said about how you had a phase of

if you had a terrible net before the game, you would then go on and score runs. But now you know that that's the thing. It's like this superstition in cricket. Everyone's got their own superstitions, but they're so stupid and so ridiculous. But it just goes to show that actually how you turn up in the game is the only thing that matters,

like when you were talking about your mentality and your mindset. Oh, definitely. I think I can tell you now, like the worst pre-match net I ever had was before Bristol. We played South Africa at Bristol in the World Cup. And I got like no scores in the World Cup before that. And then that was when Sarah and I both got 140. And I remember, like, I had, basically, I used to have, if I wasn't going well, I'd just bat longer and

longer and longer. And eventually, Ali was like, will you get the out? And just, like, shouted at me. And I, like, got really angry. And then obviously I just went out and, you know, it made no difference that I'd probably not middle one for the whole 20 minute net had had on the day. So, yeah, you learn quite quickly that as long as you kind of turn up mentally, it doesn't really matter what happens in the morning. Which just again proves my theory you don't need to warm up in cricket. Well, because redundant, get rid of it. Did a toss, turn up, go play. Yesterday, we warmed up. We were playing North West Thunder versus the storm. We warmed up. I sat down for four hours because it rained. Yeah, stupid. I mean, I did actually go out to bat and got one now. So what are you saying?

Right, Tam. You look in good form when you played ours for Lightning. You look like you're going to get top score, mate. I thought I was going to get a 50 that day. I was like, Tammy, I might. I might. I might get 50, you're like steady on. Well, we were, our spinners were bowling, they're like, we just can't get Alex out. We're going to have to bowl at the number seven. I was like, she's got a good technique to block spin. Death taxes and hardly bringing up the fact she scored runs once.

Tam, we have got a little quiz for you. It wouldn't be no balls without a stupid, unnecessary quiz. You are top of the ODI rankings. We've said it about a million times. So we're going to do an ODI quiz with you and how much you know yourself. Oh, God. Am I going first? Question number one, in the ODI quiz.

Who is smaller? You old Poonam Yadav. Poonam Yadav, surely. By how many centimetres? Ten. Five. You're 160 centimetres and Poonam's 155. I mean, she feels smaller.

She looks fine, doesn't she? She's like a little pocket size, cricket. She was stood next to her. Julian and Goswalmi the other day they were both batting together and it just reminded me of James Taylor and Stephen Finn Yeah

Yeah and it's just a massive height difference So good Question number two Do you average more in T20 cricket Or test cricket Oh I don't know why we call this an ODI quiz Because the first two questions

are not about one day cricket Um T20 Just No Test just Oh Test 28

T20 How many fours have you hit in ODI cricket? That's a tough one. Are you going to oversell yourself or undersell yourself? What person do you want to be? 180. Oh, Tammy. Tammy, massive undersell.

323. Oh, I thought I was more of a nudger, run a lot of twos. You dirty slogger. And then how many sixes have you? hit in ODIs? Well, I hit one last week, so I'll just drop that one in. Oh, I don't think it's that many, like 15. Good.

We'll give you that. Very close. 14. I'll better hit one in September and then it'll get it up. Who have you hit the most sixes against which team? South Africa. Sri Lanka. Oh, interesting.

So most six against Sri Lanka. How many ducks have you had? Quite a few. I might not have had any since 2016, but nine. Tammy, you are so much better than that. You've only had four. That is a ridiculous stat. For an opening batter?

Yeah. I remember Juland goes, We got me out first ball once. That was when you batted with Lottie to get her to a hundred. Oh, the coldest day the cricket has ever seen. Yes. Oh, that was horrible. We were running hot water,

bottles out to all the players it was horrendous but yeah thanks for that time i did get lost 200 i went out i went out there and everyone before i went out to back they were like good luck crossy play straight like more so than ever bat in at number 11 i was like yeah all right i'll be fine first ball i defend end of the over and everyone gives me a clap and i'm like oh thanks it wasn't that good but i don't know why and then the next fall lot he hits one through the covers so i start running goes for four and everyone's applauding i was like oh my god she's just got a hundred i didn't even realize i went out she's on 99 not out I didn't even know. Oh my God.

Shambles. Tammy Beaumont, in your ODI quiz, who have you faced the most balls against? Pandy. Oh, sorry, we meant team. Which team? Oh, India. Yeah.

I thought you meant like Boulder. I was like, goodness, this is hard. Oh, God, no, we're not that mean. It's too early for that. We only did the research 10 minutes ago. So you got, well, we'll give you Shikipandi because she plays for India. Do you know how many you've faced?

against them? Uh, well, we've faced around 3,400 in, like, all together, if that helps. Okay. Um, maybe like 600. Do you know what? We can give her that, can't we? Yeah, it's ballpark. 729.

Oh. Tommy, you actually did really well on the no balls quiz. Um, you win nothing. We don't know how many you got right. Actually, we can give her the ICC. top ranking in ODI cricket, that's our present to you. You've still got it. Well done, Timmy Bowen. You're still the world's best ODI batter. Thanks, guys. Before we let you go, building up to T20s, you're currently at home,

you've got a couple of days off. Will you, or will you not, be back at the top of the order? You don't have to actually answer it. You know, I can't answer that one. I thought I was trying to squeeze it out here. You can see she's a journalist now, Tammy. She's got these little ways of tricking you. He's like, let you relax with Chris. Bang! Yeah. We did it with Shooter.

We were like, so what have you got coming up? She's like, series against India and then this, this, this. And then it's all over the papers. Megan Shutt claims they play against India on Nobles, the Cricket Podcast. She announced it on Nobles. We can't believe that we've got through this entire interview without Indy popping up. Oh, yeah. Do you want to see him?

Yeah, let's get him on. So Indy is the naughtiest dog that anyone has ever met. He actually got on the field at Worcester, didn't he, the other day? Oh, I mean, look at him. Oh, he looks confused. Oh, bless him. He's bigger than you, Tam.

Who's that? Hello, Indy. Hello, hello. You've been a superstar. You are a superstar. Best of luck for the T-20s. and congratulations on everything you've achieved so far in your career. Thanks, girls. It's been a blast.

Thank you, Tammy. Oh, Tam, that was so good. I loved it. I love the Crowie story. I never knew that. Yeah. Yeah, I sent him a picture when the day we won the World Cup, I went and found the bench we sat on. And I was like, look at this. Oh, that's so sweet.

That's so cool. Tammy, Beaumont. If we didn't tell you, The best batter in the world right now. Was she? I think so. In T20s? Briefly.

Test. Got a better test average than ODI average? Wait. Is she the bowler? She bowls filthy offies. Doesn't spin it. Yeah, I know you're talking about. Best in the world.

Best in the world. Best in the world. Best in the world. How good. She was actually, she's been waiting for her moment on this podcast for years. Yeah, well, years. We've not even been doing it years. But yeah.

And you know what? She's got a great story as well, hasn't she? She's a, she is a belter. she's worked so hard to get to where she's got to and she's one of those girls that when I'm in the dressing room and she goes out to bat I just know that she's going to score runs

and that is so valuable to have apart from the other day when she got the door apart from that we would brush over it and she's such an unbelievable batter very very skilled and do you know what I think would be interesting just to get a little voice note

or a little clip on Carl Crow's perspective of that conversation they had all those years ago and now it's happened It was a great, I genuinely had like goosebumps when she told that story because what I was trying to get at is that they're the conversations that nobody knows about, no one has a clue what she has gone through, no one knows that she sat there crying that day and probably was thinking about giving up cricket

and then what she has had to do to get herself there and I can't even imagine how good it must have felt to have seen that she's top, literally on top of the world in the skill that she wanted to be. I know. Congratulations, Tammy. And thank you, everybody, for listening to No Bulls this week. We hope you've had an absolute belter.

Thank you as well, genuinely from all the messages that we've had on Twitter about everything about your commentary, about me playing cricket, because we read all of it. Do read all of it. We genuinely try and reply to as much as we can, but you're all absolute belters, and we love having you. And if you want to follow us on Twitter, it's No Balls TCP. Correct it is.

And if you want to email us, it's No Bowlspodcast at BBC.co.com. Noblespodcast at BBC.co.com. You just did your BBC voice. Did I? You did it there. There we go. See you guys. Bye.

Did I? And cross strikes in the first over. It's what England we're looking for. Hardley balls. Down the track comes scoring. This time she connects. It's either six or out. It's six.

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