England v West Indies: Tammy Beaumont says she has been playing for her place
- Published
England v West Indies women's T20: Tammy Beaumont smashes match-winning half-century
First Twenty20, Incora County Ground, Derby |
England 163-8 (20 overs): Beaumont 62, Knight 25, Selman 3-26 |
West Indies 116-6 (20 overs): Dottin 69, Ecclestone 2-19, Sciver 2-16 |
England win by 47 runs; lead series 1-0 |
Tammy Beaumont says she feels she has been playing for her place after she starred in England's 47-run T20 victory over West Indies.
Beaumont, promoted to open, top-scored with 62 from 49 balls as England posted 163-8 at the Incora County Ground, Derby.
The 29-year-old has played 83 T20s for England but has batted everywhere from one to 11 in her career.
"It's made me look at my game and be more aggressive at the top," Beaumont told Sky Sports.
Beaumont opened for England in their final match of the T20 World Cup in place of Amy Jones after being moved around the middle order.
She has opened for England 30 times and scored her sole T20 century - a fine 116 against South Africa in 2018 - when batting at two.
"I feel like I've been playing for my place since January," Beaumont said.
"At the minute it's going quite well and it was good to put that into action in a real game rather than one against each other."
Beaumont made a frenetic start in Derby and was reprieved on nine when Britney Cooper dropped her in the deep.
However, her power hitting is much improved, with a straight six down the ground a highlight of her 49-ball innings.
She shared a 52-run stand with captain Heather Knight and looked assured, before miscuing a reverse-scoop to fall to Shakera Selman.
"This innings felt a long way away when I returned to cricket four months ago and was bowled by an underarm in my first session," Beaumont joked.
"It is amazing to be back out there and kick us off at the top of the order."
Before the game, both teams took the knee and wore Black Lives Matter logos on their shirts to honour the movement.
Beaumont said she felt she had learnt a lot about her "white privilege" over the past few months.
"We really wanted to make a stand. It was a really powerful moment," said Beaumont.
"It's important for anyone with any kind of platform to stand up for what matters and certainly for me, I feel like I've been educated since what happened in America.
"It's really important we address this issue and stand together."
The second game of the five-match series begins on Wednesday at 18:00 BST.