It was two runs if you hit the rabbit hutch... the wicket was a skateboard ANYA THE WORLD BEATER
...and here’s the story of how she got there, as told by her dad Ian
Ian ShrubSole chuckles as he considers the impact of the picture he tweeted of nine-year-old daughter anya watching him play at lord’s 16 years ago and dreaming of walking out on the hallowed turf herself in a World Cup final.
‘My wife Sam is rolling her eyes listening to me talk about this because I’ve become a bit of a saddo about that pic,’ says the father of the woman who not only fulfilled her childhood dream but won that World Cup for england.
‘You couldn’t make it up, could you? anya’s words weren’t exactly what I said in the tweet but that was more or less what she said to her gran.
‘So to just play there in a World Cup final was enough, let alone take six wickets. If it was a book, no one would believe the ending.’
Ian and Sam Shrubsole were back home in bath yesterday, wide-eyed with pride and barely able to believe it was their daughter who snatched victory for england over India with one of the great bowling bursts in one of the great lord’s finals.
‘There are so many emotions that it’s very hard to sum up,’ said Pe teacher Ian. ‘ You start by hoping anya will have a good day and she takes a wicket and you think, “This could be it”.
‘but then she gets whacked for a couple. Then she got on a roll where you stop worrying what might happen and expect good things. It was one of those moments.
‘While all this was going on, Sam was sitting in a corner of our box at lord’s not daring to watch a single thing. every time she heard a roar she looked up at the TV, celebrated with another parent and then sat back down again.
‘Some of us remember the days where you would have to drag people into the ground to watch women’s cricket. anya made her england debut when she was 16, at Shenley, and there were only a handful of people there who weren’t connected with the team. To go from that to what happened at lord’s is remarkable.’
as Ian spoke to Sportsmail, the new heroine of english cricket was back at lord’s with her teammates reflecting on the day that has changed her life, and in all probability women’s cricket, forever — and that picture tweetedd by her dad.
‘I’m happy he posted it because it is really nice and obviously sentimental,’ said the down-to- earth West Country woman.
‘I remember the day and the game relatively well and thinking, “Wouldn’t it be nice to play out there one day?”
‘how can you not look out at lord’s and think it would be a pretty cool place to play? never did I think it would be in a World Cup final and never did I think we’d be winning it. You never believe something like that until it happens.’
The story of anya Shrubsole is an inspirational one, from those early days in a tight-knit family watching her dad at bath Cricket Club to becoming player of the match in the biggest game in women’s cricket history.
‘anya spent every moment possible down at the club watching, learning and badgering me to bowl at her,’ said Ian. ‘ our three kids would play garden cricket endlessly in our backyard. It was two runs if you hit the rabbit hutch and a skateboard was the wicket.
‘Tom and lauren were both very good players but the difference with anya was her drive.’
It is clear who anya, 25, got her love of the game from. ‘Dad will be modest about it but he was a pretty good bowler,’ she said. ‘I’ve seen him getting a few batsmen hopping around and he could hit a decent ball. Mum would say to me, “let’s do something else at the weekend”, but I’d always want to play cricket or watch dad.
‘I credit my parents with the way I was brought up but sometimes my single-mindedness would drive them up the wall.
‘I’d always say to them, “I’ll do it myself” and they’d say, “You can’t, it’s a shoelace and you’re one, you can’t tie it”. once I set my mind on something I always try to do it.’
Ian is convinced his daughter will take in her stride her sudden status as a role model to thousands of girls.
‘I haven’t got the foggiest idea how you top this and it might be quite difficult to get back to normality,’ said dad, who drove a mini-bus full of Shrubsoles to lord’s and back for their big day out. ‘all I know is that anya won’t let it go to her head.
‘She will be the same as she always has been. I know that without even stopping to think about it. She’s a properly nice person.’
anya, meanwhile, was looking forward yesterday to going back to bath to be with her family. ‘It’s amazing the people I’ve heard from,’ she said. ‘Someone told me Jeremy Corbyn had sent me a message and there it was.
‘one of the best was from my favourite football team Portsmouth, who have invited me to watch a game from the directors’ box, so that will be pretty cool.’
and what will she do now her picture is not just on the back pages of every newspaper, but on some front pages, too?
‘I will probably go home and put the kettle on as normal,’ said anya. ‘I pride myself on not getting too up when things are going well and too down when they’re not.
‘It might be hard not to get too up after this but in my head, life will return to normal pretty quickly. Whether that happens or not I just don’t know…’
She is the most impressive of role models and national heroes. as dad Ian knows only too well.