Women's Ashes: Tammy Beaumont says pickle juice the secret of her success against Australia
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Tammy Beaumont says pickle juice is the secret to her success against Australia
England batter Tammy Beaumont has revealed the secret behind her remarkable longevity during her record-breaking innings against Australia last week - pickle juice.
Beaumont, 32, drank the juice to overcome cramp in her hand during a mammoth innings which lasted more than eight hours.
She was eventually out for 208, the highest score for England by a woman.
"It was disgusting," she told the Tailenders podcast.
Beaumont's mammoth innings lasted 331 balls, featuring 27 fours, as she become just the eighth player to score a double hundred in women's cricket.
But her efforts were very nearly derailed by the cramp in her hand.
"If I have batted for a long time it goes like an actual claw," said Beaumont.
"I have to literally straighten out my fingers, drink some disgusting pickle juice and try and go again. Because once it starts it happens every couple of overs for the rest of the day."
However, Beaumont has endured an even worse experience with pickle juice after drinking the "wrong" type in a match last year.
"There's two different types. One you swallow, the other is swill around and spit out," she added.
"It started at a match last year so Katherine Sciver-Brunt brings it out to the middle, I didn't know it was the one you are meant to spit out.
"So I have swilled it around and swallowed it and she was like 'what are you doing?'
"It tasted like acid. It was horrible."
It tastes bad... but does it actually work?
Pickle juice is regularly used by athletes to deal with cramp, including in Australian rules football
In a word: Yes.
Dr Mayur Ranchordas - a senior lecturer in sport nutrition and exercise metabolism at Sheffield Hallam University - has used the drink with professional cyclists and Premier League footballers.
And while, he says, the results are compelling, it is not necessarily for the reasons you might initially expect.
"Pickle juice contains sodium, potassium and vinegar and the obvious conclusion would be that it replaces sodium and salts lost when playing sport in a hot and humid environment," said Dr Ranchordas.
"However, how it really works is that it triggers a reflex in the mouth which sends a signal to stop muscles from cramping. That's why it is drank at the onset of cramp.
"It stops cramping 40% faster than drinking water."
Dr Ranchordas says it is particularly effective as a treatment for cramps in warmer conditions or when sporting occasions last longer than anticipated - be it a five-set tennis match, or an epic innings in cricket.