Anya looking to on ultimate high
ANYA Shrubsole could never have predicted how her 2017 would turn out – and it could yet get even better after her nomination for Sports Personality of the Year.
Given the President’s Award at the British Sports Awards on Wednesday, as well as being part of the BT Sport Action Woman Team of the Year winners the day before, it’s already been a busy December.
And unlike her male cricketing counterparts, Shrubsole also got a nomination for SPOTY, and she admits it’s been a lot to take in.
She said: “It’s all been pretty surreal. It’s become obvious December is awards season and there are lots going around. SPOTY is a huge honour and something that I didn’t expect, even after winning the World Cup.
“It’s not something you aim for as such, it’s something you accept, but what I think is it’s really good recognition for where the women’s game is at. It wouldn’t have mattered who of us was nominated, just the fact there’s a female cricketer on the shortlist is amazing.
“One of the things that we’re really aware of as a team is that we want to win and be successful but one of the real benefits of that is we can hopefully be real role models and inspirations for people who play cricket or might want to play cricket in the future.
“That’s a part of our role as international players that we take really seriously as a team. The World Cup really helped us to be able to do that now.”
Shrubsole is back in the UK following last month’s Women’s Ashes, which England came back to draw – albeit with Australia retaining the urn.
That inevitably led to some frustration, with the Australians getting off to a strong start in the one-day series and England never able to close the gap.
However, the way England came back in the T20 series to level the overall points is a