12. Phoebe Graham
After three articles looking at archery, shooting and broadcasting (with a bit of rhythmic gymnastics thrown in), I’m back on much more familiar territory for article no.12, which features Yorkshire cricketer Phoebe Graham.
I think it’s fair to say that the overwhelming majority of elite athletes will concentrate on their sport from an early age, rising through the ranks towards the top of their respective sport from late teens through to mid-20s.
Phoebe’s story bucks that proverbial trend, as she has recently left a marketing role at Sky to sign a first professional contract and take on the challenge of full-time at elite sport with her 30th birthday just starting to appear on the horizon. It is a fascinating story, and one I’m very glad to have the opportunity to share – despite the fact that the fourth word of Phoebe’s opening answer was the dreaded ‘J’ word!
How did the professional contract come about?
“I think my journey to the Northern Diamonds was quite different to all the other girls in the squad,” Phoebe admitted. “I’d been playing down in Berkshire the previous season because I working down south, and training with the MCC Academy over the winter.
“Then Covid hit and the tenancy on my flat finished a month later, so around the end of March it felt like a good opportunity to move and relocate back to Yorkshire, rather than moving across London at the height of a pandemic – and thinking it would only last a month or two … although it looks like I’m now indefinitely in Yorkshire!
“I was running strength and conditioning sessions for the MCC Academy, very much with the mindset that I’d be going back down south as soon as the cricket season started. But being back in Yorkshire, working remotely felt like the right thing to be doing, and it made more sense to play locally rather than travel up and down the country to play for the Sunrisers [representing London and the East region as one of eight regional hubs in English domestic women’s cricket].
“I got back in touch with Yorkshire, and they said they were happy to have me playing some of the county games when things got back underway; and from that, I trialled for the Northern Diamonds [the hub covering Yorkshire, Durham and Northumberland].
“I guess reflectively, looking at what’s in front of me versus maybe where I believed I wanted to be – which was down south and working back at Sky – I’ve taken every opportunity and that’s led to the professional contract and relocation back to Yorkshire.”
In last season’s domestic 50-over tournament, which was named in honour of former England captain Rachel Heyhoe-Flint, the Northern Diamonds managed to reach the final of what is likely to be a one-off tournament played behind closed doors due to the Covid restrictions that were in force during 2020.
Although Southern Vipers won the final by 38 runs, thanks in no small part to Charlotte Taylor’s magnificent six-wicket haul, how did Phoebe reflect on the competition, the size of event and the coverage?
“One of the big differences with that competition is that a lot of the games were played at big county grounds; so we played at Chester le Street [The Riverside], Headingley, and at Edgbaston in the group rounds. That in itself was quite a big adjustment to be playing in these larger grounds. I don’t know how many people we’d have had in if there had been crowds, but they felt so eerily empty; and you almost had that imposter syndrome that you sometimes get when you think ‘should I actually be playing here?!’
“By the time it got to the final, I felt like I’d adjusted to the bigger grounds,” Phoebe continued, “but the change from the decent local grounds where you play county cricket to these big stadiums was really noticeable, but realistically these are the grounds where the women’s game should be played.”
Phoebe’s father, Peter ‘PC’ Graham was well-known and hugely respected throughout Yorkshire and the north east. A fine quick bowler, he had a remarkable record both for Northumberland, for whom he made well over one hundred appearances in a 20-year minor counties career, but also within the hugely competitive Bradford League in which he became one of the few bowlers to reach the milestone of 1,000 wickets.
Peter sadly passed away in 2015, but presumably, Phoebe’s love of the game stemmed from her father?
“I’m one of three girls and the three of us were just brought up on the side of a cricket pitch. We’d spend weekends, and probably Mondays and Tuesdays watching cricket, watching Dad play, and that was very much our childhood – and our knowledge of UK geography is probably based on cricket grounds!
“So yes, that’s how I was introduced to the game. Dad had a specialist sports shop as well, and someone had rung the shop and asked if any of the girls wanted to come along and play in the interval of a test game at Scarborough, because they were looking for young girls to run onto the pitch. So it was only at that moment, at 12 or 13 that I first actually played, but because we had been around cricket and watching the game for so long, it came quite naturally to me and my sisters.
“Both me and my younger sister took on cricket; she only played for a couple of years, but I never looked back from that moment.”
And was Phoebe always destined to become as fast bowler?
“I think so. I always liked bowling as fast as I could, and hitting the ball as hard as I could … just a monster of a little child really!” Phoebe chuckled at the memory. “Cricket was the sport I ended up focussing on, but I just loved playing every single sport going; football, netball, hockey, tennis … I don’t know how my parents did it really, but I was just sports mad!”
How did Phoebe’s cricket develop?
“I played county under-13 right through to the Yorkshire first team, and then left Yorkshire when I went down to Exeter University. I played the first year for Yorkshire, but I was travelling hours and hours to all the matches and it was just too much. I think that’s something that you find when you’re trying to balance a good standard of cricket with everything else in life, so I ended up playing for Devon when I was down in Exeter, then had a couple of years off cricket … that was when Dad passed away.
“It was all very heavy with my relationship with Dad and cricket, and I just needed a break from it; some time off to try and rediscover my enjoyment of the game.
“At the time I didn’t think I’d play again,” Phoebe reflected, “but I ended up going to the 2017 World Cup final – Lauren Winfield-Hill invited me along, and I was living close to London – and the game had developed so much in those two years That break was almost the best thing that could have happened to me in terms of not thinking about cricket, focussing on my career, the development of me as a person without Dad in my life; and I came back to the cricket arena surrounded by girls that I’d played with since I was a kid.
“I just thought ‘I’ve missed this; I want to get back and start playing again’. I was living in Reading at the time and that’s when I started playing with Berkshire, and trained and played with them for a couple of years.”
What is instantly noticeable is not only Phoebe’s soft Yorkshire accent, but that she speaks with a natural warmth and openness that is incredibly engaging. Next, I asked how much she felt cricket had developed in her time away from the game…
“Before these new structures and systems were put in place for the professional game, you rocked up on a Sunday, the season was no more than three months long, and although there was a little bit of winter training, it wasn’t enough to change your game, or change yourself from amateur to professional.
“I was enjoying it, but playing alongside the likes of Heather Knight and Anya Shrubsole, you never knew how you could feasibly reach their level without having the facilities, coaches and the ability to train day-in-day-out. At that time, there just wasn’t the standard of women’s cricket that you could play, and put in those performances to get recognised…
“I think the athleticism has been one of the big changes in the game; you could see that the girls were dedicating themselves to being full-time athletes and taking the game much more seriously and crowds were growing as a result. And with the investment coming from the ECB, it just showcases the difference if you’ve got that time to dedicate to training and you’ve got the facilities around you; then the game can progress a long way in a short space of time.
“The ECB invested quite top heavy to ensure that the international game developed over those few years; but the big difference now is the investment is coming in at the regional level and it’s enabling full-time training all year for semi-professional and professional athletes.
“So it’s really providing that pathway and structure and the possibility to get to the top, whereas before, it felt like if you weren’t selected in that elite group, it was really difficult to make an impact in a four- or five-week Kia Super League … or even get into the Kia Super League if your name wasn’t known in those arenas. So yes, in those two years the investment and priorities from the ECB changed, the athleticism of the girls improved massively, and there was a growing audience there to watch.”
Going back to that World Cup final in 2017, did Phoebe feel (like I did) that England’s cause looked hopeless as India closed in on their victory target with seven wickets in hand?
Phoebe laughed: “Yes, most definitely! It was an amazing spectacle, and I think that’s something as a player you don’t always appreciate, but I was very much sat on the other side at that point.
“I’d not played for two years and I’d gone along as a fan and a friend, but it was a fantastic game, incredible to watch; and that just showed how far the game had come. Often in those situations, a female team might look dead and buried, but the depth and ability of the squad was amazing and so good to see; and hopefully in the Rachel Heyhoe-Flint Trophy, you saw that in some of Northern Diamonds games as well … comebacks from seven or eight [wickets] down, where we were able to turn things round because of the depth of the squad.
“I think it shows that the level of competition at international level is coming through to the regional game as well, which is really helping the development of the game; it’s brilliant!”
The past year has been dominated by the effects of Covid-19; how has this impacted that development?
“On the negative side, we’re unable to get girls and boys watching the game in stadiums; and I think when you’re actually live, you feel the game a lot more; that emotion really comes through. And I think you almost get that extra feeling of ‘I want to play’, rather than ‘I’m just enjoying watching’.
“The fact that kids aren’t able to play sport at the moment … it’s just horrible, and obviously that’s having a huge negative impact on the development and growth of the game.
“For women’s cricket, we’re classed as elite, and the only reason is because of the new professional contracts that came in just a couple of months ago. We’re able to train three times a week at the moment under the current restrictions, so some progression of the game is still happening despite Covid being around.
“We’ve never had this level of winter training, so the standard of the regional game next season should be significantly better because you’ve got over a hundred girls training full-time over the winter because we’re now classed as elite, and very privileged compared to some other sports.”
Having mentioned the increased level of training, what are the main changes that Phoebe has noticed?
“I came back into the game two years ago at a county standard; the county season lasted eight to ten weeks and you basically just played at the weekend. With the Northern Diamonds, it’s almost like an extended version of the Kia Super League, in that it was happening over two months instead of one, and you have every single training facility and coach at your fingertips. We even had a physio at training, so if you had a niggle or weren’t feeling great, she was able to manipulate your shoulder or work on an injury there and then.
“You had a strength and conditioning coach, bowling, batting and fielding coaches; and that’s the biggest difference - we’re operating now as a professional sports team…
“That level of support had been available for the Kia Super League, but that was only a four-week season, and now this is ongoing, so it’s a shift in demands and expectations of good county cricketers who would never have expected to be in this arena at this age – but it’s absolutely unbelievable and it’s one of the big reasons why I changed the trajectory of my career to become a professional cricketer.”
All the hard work must be having a positive impact on Phoebe as a cricketer?
“Definitely. Even during the Rachel Heyhoe-Flint competition I could see a huge change in my game. I’d never trained so often with that level of dedication from the same coaches. You could play three or four games a week, but what’s made the biggest difference is actually having the same coaches to focus on your development, push you in the right direction and talk through situations and players you’re going to face…”
One thing you notice when watching the shorter form of the game, whether that be 20 or 50 over matches, is the wide range of variations that bowlers now have available. Back when I was playing, I had a quicker ball that normally got hit for six, and a much slower, flighted delivery that usually went even further … how much work is Phoebe doing to develop some hopefully much more successful bowling options?
“This is something that we’re in the process of working on at the moment,” she smiled. “Now I have the time, it’s a case of how can I extend my toolbox to have a slower ball that I’m confident with. I had a slower ball in the summer, but I may have only bowled it once or twice…
“So having a confident slower ball, varying the lines that you’re bowling, whether you’re coming round the wicket, wide of the wicket, it’s just about having that freedom of time to test these things out. We’re doing a lot of work on my run-up at the moment, which I’m very much focussing on, but then I think I’ll be moving into a lot of the variation work.
“I think one of the big things is remaining focussed, because there’s so much variation in the game. If you forget about your strengths, you lose that core of what you’re good at; it’s a fine balance that we’re working through at the moment.”
One particular aspect of bowling that has always interested me is the mental process of utilising whatever variations you may have at your disposal. Whilst there is an element of repetition or ‘normality’ with a stock ball, my ability to bowl a successful variation would depend on confidence levels that could ebb and flow during a season … or even during an individual spell. How does Phoebe approach that mental side of the game and trying something different in a pressure situation?
“We have access to a sports psychologist as part of the new professional structure, which I do need to take advantage of at some point.
“Thinking back to the first Northern Diamonds game I played, which was against Central Sparks at Grace Road in Leicester, Katherine Brunt had played in the first two games – she owned that spot as the opening bowler and I came in when she rejoined the England bubble – it was the first time I’d opened the bowling in the regional competition, and those nerves and self-doubt just overtook my performance.
“I bowled two no-balls and after three overs I was taken off and wasn’t able to bowl another ball in that innings. It was mortifying, but I had to find an inner strength, an inner character to bounce back and play my part in the field because I knew I had 44 overs to still make an impact in the game.
“When I went into bat, it was the game when we were seven down; 110 for seven chasing 220. Beth Langston and Jenny Gunn put on 60 or 70 together and got us up to 180, and Jenny and I needed 40 or so to win the game. It was finding the inner strength to come through that made me think about the game very differently; you need to trust your ability in that next moment
“For example, when I was holding the ball, I was probably thinking about my next over, or the game next week, rather than the here and now and this ball that I’ve got to deliver. And that was what I took into the second innings with the bat; I just needed to focus ball-by-ball, Jenny was obviously a fantastic mentor, she just told me to enjoy it, it’s amazing being out here; and that was very much the mindset I took into the rest of the competition – enjoying every game, and thinking about the next moment, rather than too far ahead…
“The mindset is really difficult to crack. I’ve tried to take a lot of what I’ve learned in business into sport, backing my ability, trusting my confidence, and that has really helped, but the psychological support is there and I do think it’s something I will need to tap into…
“I should also mention a charity bike ride that I did with my friend Emma Saggers in 2018. We cycled from Ascot to Italy; it was an amazing experience that really helped me recognise that if you put your mind to something, anything is possible. Certainly putting myself out of my comfort zone and being able to succeed changed my mindset … and, in a sense, my approach to cricket.”
This was such a fascinating insight, and I loved hearing about how Phoebe had found the internal strength to turn a difficult moment into a positive that extended well beyond the particular game in question; but how did she reflect on leaving the relative security of her marketing job for the challenges of professional sport?
“Obviously, it was very daunting. I suppose when you’re in a career from a business perspective, you can almost see what the next step or stage is, and look at parallels around you to see what’s achievable; it is quite a secure place to be in. The worst case scenario you lose your job, you get a very similar job. Entering the sporting arena was a big step, but it was something I really wanted to do, and I just couldn’t turn down the opportunity.
“I loved it during last summer and found it so enjoyable, but I suppose there’s that doubt about security, and that pressure that comes from being a sportswoman. You’re very much in that arena; you perform well, you get that next gig … but that ‘performance’ is the next game, so it’s impossible to know how long the career might be.
“I look at what a lot of my friends are doing, the social norms as a 29-year old, and the trajectory that you’ve created and the path you’ve carved is there to take, but the opportunities with cricket, the enjoyment and fulfilment will undoubtedly be second to none.
“It felt like a bigger decision than it probably was, but there was never any doubt in my mind what choice I was going to make.”
Like Phoebe’s father, my dad was also a good cricketer (he was Leicestershire captain back in 1962). Although he gave me a lifelong love of the game, he never put any pressure on me to replicate his achievements on the field (which is just as well, really). That said, I always felt I’d let him down in some way by not being as good as player as he had been…
It’s clear the Graham genes have been passed down more successfully, but has Phoebe ever felt any pressure to follow in her father’s sporting footsteps?
“Before Dad passed away, one of the things he spoke to me about was for me to be happy and do the things I wanted to do. I think he recognised, particularly in his last couple of years, I was playing cricket for him because I knew how much pleasure he got from it – and I loved how much he enjoyed getting out. Probably until that last year I didn’t feel the pressure to play, I just wanted to play for him really. So we had a chat about doing what made me happy and, at that point, I didn’t want to play cricket any more…
“There was never any pressure from him, he just loved that we enjoyed playing sport. He was really chilled out, ‘enjoy the game Phoebs’ and he’d always talk me up after a game … he was such a positive parent.
“I started playing again for me rather than for anyone else, and I think that’s been the biggest shift in the way I’ve approached the game, and the way that I’m thinking about it. Obviously Dad would love that I’m playing cricket, but now I’m doing it for me, because I want to, and that feels quite empowering.”
Although I never knew Peter, several of my former Gateshead Fell team mates had played minor counties cricket alongside him during the early-mid-90s. Listening to Phoebe talking about her father, I wish I’d had the chance to meet him … but I’m grateful I never had to face him!
Moving on to women’s sport in general, Phoebe recently set up a website, ‘TipnFlip’, with the aim of promoting sporting equality; and I was interested to find out more…
“It’s something that’s massively important to me; the development of women’s sport and the opportunities in women’s sport. That was another reason why I felt I just couldn’t turn down this contract. I felt like I’d never had this opportunity before, and despite being 29, it’s never too late to take something on that you’re really passionate about.
“TipnFlip was something that I created during lockdown because women’s sport is at a tipping point … perceptions need to be flipped and changed in order to be able to develop and revolutionise women’s sport. We were discussing the change in the game since the 2017 World Cup; the reason is that these cricketers see themselves as athletes and people are now viewing them as athletes. Perceptions are changing and that investment in the game four or five years ago is now paying dividends, with audiences coming into watch and girls participating, all of which is helping the growth game.
“It’s that spinning wheel; if you invest in players and the trajectory of the game, then the audiences will come. I just think a lot of the time there are negative perceptions about women’s sport. It’s just something that I’m super-passionate about. By increasing opportunities to everyone and seeing sport as equal, it’ll help develop the game and open up more careers for young females coming through now they’ve got role models they can relate to.”
Is media, including social media a stumbling block?
“Massively … if you read the back pages of newspapers today, or look at the BBC Sport or Sky Sports’ news feed today, maybe five percent of the coverage will be on women’s sport. Now if you want it to be normalised for young females that are looking at the world of sport, it’s got to be more like 50/50; but that credibility about how sport is perceived needs to be flipped for it to become 50/50.
“It’s improving steadily over time, and there’s probably more coverage now than there ever was. You can see it visually through the likes of Alex Scott, Ebony Rainford-Brent, Isa Guha and commentators in the game just helping to change those perceptions and challenge what has been the norm in sport for years.
“I think there’s still such a long way to go, to keep drumming that message home; and that’s one of the reasons why I want to try and somehow use my voice to talk about women’s sport and help normalise it.”
We chatted about the commercial or financial side of sport which I feel has brought an element of cynicism into the likes of men’s football that isn’t apparent in women’s sport; and much as you can admire the skill and dedication of the female athletes, their love and enjoyment of the sport in question often shines through as well.
“I think it’s growing women’s sport in a sustainable way,” Phoebe nodded, “so that those core attitudes of women’s sport still remain despite it becoming slightly more commercial. In women’s football at the moment, there are big transfers from the US, and I think that the Manchester United girls [Tobin Heath and Christen Press] sold more shirts than any of the men’s players. So it’s coming, but you’ve just got to make sure it’s grown in such a way that we appreciate what our values and beliefs are.
“I actually think there’s a lot that we can learn from the men’s and women’s games. Thinking about me as a fast bowler for example, I’m 5’11” nearly six foot and looking to use my levers in the best way, and in terms of how he uses his height and body composition one of the best comparisons is Stuart Broad.
“But if I’m trying to look at a sweep shot, how to play the best sweep and play slower bowlers, I’d use examples like Tammy Beaumont and Dani Wyatt; how they manipulate ball, how they play spin.
“So I think you can learn from both games and that’s the best way to see them; they’re almost two different sports, and there are areas from both where you can learn, and grown the total game.
“The way women’s cricket is played there’s a lot more spin and swing, the ball gets manipulated a lot more because there isn’t that power. We can learn from the men’s game in the way they use their power to generate more pace or hit the ball over the top, whereas the men’s game could learn from the way we use a lot more flight or swing the ball.
“It’s a case of not seeing them against each other, but how you can use the men’s and women’s games to grow the overall game, and how those comparisons can normalise conversation and perception.”
That brought to an end a thoroughly absorbing conversation. It was an absolute pleasure to chat with Phoebe and be able to share her story. I will certainly be looking out for the Northern Diamonds’ fixtures this summer, and if Covid has relented enough for spectators to be allowed back into the grounds, I’ll find my way to one of the games and hopefully watch Phoebe and her team mates whilst enjoying a long overdue stroll round the boundary.
© Richard Kirby and Phoebe Graham 2021
I think it’s fair to say that the overwhelming majority of elite athletes will concentrate on their sport from an early age, rising through the ranks towards the top of their respective sport from late teens through to mid-20s.
Phoebe’s story bucks that proverbial trend, as she has recently left a marketing role at Sky to sign a first professional contract and take on the challenge of full-time at elite sport with her 30th birthday just starting to appear on the horizon. It is a fascinating story, and one I’m very glad to have the opportunity to share – despite the fact that the fourth word of Phoebe’s opening answer was the dreaded ‘J’ word!
How did the professional contract come about?
“I think my journey to the Northern Diamonds was quite different to all the other girls in the squad,” Phoebe admitted. “I’d been playing down in Berkshire the previous season because I working down south, and training with the MCC Academy over the winter.
“Then Covid hit and the tenancy on my flat finished a month later, so around the end of March it felt like a good opportunity to move and relocate back to Yorkshire, rather than moving across London at the height of a pandemic – and thinking it would only last a month or two … although it looks like I’m now indefinitely in Yorkshire!
“I was running strength and conditioning sessions for the MCC Academy, very much with the mindset that I’d be going back down south as soon as the cricket season started. But being back in Yorkshire, working remotely felt like the right thing to be doing, and it made more sense to play locally rather than travel up and down the country to play for the Sunrisers [representing London and the East region as one of eight regional hubs in English domestic women’s cricket].
“I got back in touch with Yorkshire, and they said they were happy to have me playing some of the county games when things got back underway; and from that, I trialled for the Northern Diamonds [the hub covering Yorkshire, Durham and Northumberland].
“I guess reflectively, looking at what’s in front of me versus maybe where I believed I wanted to be – which was down south and working back at Sky – I’ve taken every opportunity and that’s led to the professional contract and relocation back to Yorkshire.”
In last season’s domestic 50-over tournament, which was named in honour of former England captain Rachel Heyhoe-Flint, the Northern Diamonds managed to reach the final of what is likely to be a one-off tournament played behind closed doors due to the Covid restrictions that were in force during 2020.
Although Southern Vipers won the final by 38 runs, thanks in no small part to Charlotte Taylor’s magnificent six-wicket haul, how did Phoebe reflect on the competition, the size of event and the coverage?
“One of the big differences with that competition is that a lot of the games were played at big county grounds; so we played at Chester le Street [The Riverside], Headingley, and at Edgbaston in the group rounds. That in itself was quite a big adjustment to be playing in these larger grounds. I don’t know how many people we’d have had in if there had been crowds, but they felt so eerily empty; and you almost had that imposter syndrome that you sometimes get when you think ‘should I actually be playing here?!’
“By the time it got to the final, I felt like I’d adjusted to the bigger grounds,” Phoebe continued, “but the change from the decent local grounds where you play county cricket to these big stadiums was really noticeable, but realistically these are the grounds where the women’s game should be played.”
Phoebe’s father, Peter ‘PC’ Graham was well-known and hugely respected throughout Yorkshire and the north east. A fine quick bowler, he had a remarkable record both for Northumberland, for whom he made well over one hundred appearances in a 20-year minor counties career, but also within the hugely competitive Bradford League in which he became one of the few bowlers to reach the milestone of 1,000 wickets.
Peter sadly passed away in 2015, but presumably, Phoebe’s love of the game stemmed from her father?
“I’m one of three girls and the three of us were just brought up on the side of a cricket pitch. We’d spend weekends, and probably Mondays and Tuesdays watching cricket, watching Dad play, and that was very much our childhood – and our knowledge of UK geography is probably based on cricket grounds!
“So yes, that’s how I was introduced to the game. Dad had a specialist sports shop as well, and someone had rung the shop and asked if any of the girls wanted to come along and play in the interval of a test game at Scarborough, because they were looking for young girls to run onto the pitch. So it was only at that moment, at 12 or 13 that I first actually played, but because we had been around cricket and watching the game for so long, it came quite naturally to me and my sisters.
“Both me and my younger sister took on cricket; she only played for a couple of years, but I never looked back from that moment.”
And was Phoebe always destined to become as fast bowler?
“I think so. I always liked bowling as fast as I could, and hitting the ball as hard as I could … just a monster of a little child really!” Phoebe chuckled at the memory. “Cricket was the sport I ended up focussing on, but I just loved playing every single sport going; football, netball, hockey, tennis … I don’t know how my parents did it really, but I was just sports mad!”
How did Phoebe’s cricket develop?
“I played county under-13 right through to the Yorkshire first team, and then left Yorkshire when I went down to Exeter University. I played the first year for Yorkshire, but I was travelling hours and hours to all the matches and it was just too much. I think that’s something that you find when you’re trying to balance a good standard of cricket with everything else in life, so I ended up playing for Devon when I was down in Exeter, then had a couple of years off cricket … that was when Dad passed away.
“It was all very heavy with my relationship with Dad and cricket, and I just needed a break from it; some time off to try and rediscover my enjoyment of the game.
“At the time I didn’t think I’d play again,” Phoebe reflected, “but I ended up going to the 2017 World Cup final – Lauren Winfield-Hill invited me along, and I was living close to London – and the game had developed so much in those two years That break was almost the best thing that could have happened to me in terms of not thinking about cricket, focussing on my career, the development of me as a person without Dad in my life; and I came back to the cricket arena surrounded by girls that I’d played with since I was a kid.
“I just thought ‘I’ve missed this; I want to get back and start playing again’. I was living in Reading at the time and that’s when I started playing with Berkshire, and trained and played with them for a couple of years.”
What is instantly noticeable is not only Phoebe’s soft Yorkshire accent, but that she speaks with a natural warmth and openness that is incredibly engaging. Next, I asked how much she felt cricket had developed in her time away from the game…
“Before these new structures and systems were put in place for the professional game, you rocked up on a Sunday, the season was no more than three months long, and although there was a little bit of winter training, it wasn’t enough to change your game, or change yourself from amateur to professional.
“I was enjoying it, but playing alongside the likes of Heather Knight and Anya Shrubsole, you never knew how you could feasibly reach their level without having the facilities, coaches and the ability to train day-in-day-out. At that time, there just wasn’t the standard of women’s cricket that you could play, and put in those performances to get recognised…
“I think the athleticism has been one of the big changes in the game; you could see that the girls were dedicating themselves to being full-time athletes and taking the game much more seriously and crowds were growing as a result. And with the investment coming from the ECB, it just showcases the difference if you’ve got that time to dedicate to training and you’ve got the facilities around you; then the game can progress a long way in a short space of time.
“The ECB invested quite top heavy to ensure that the international game developed over those few years; but the big difference now is the investment is coming in at the regional level and it’s enabling full-time training all year for semi-professional and professional athletes.
“So it’s really providing that pathway and structure and the possibility to get to the top, whereas before, it felt like if you weren’t selected in that elite group, it was really difficult to make an impact in a four- or five-week Kia Super League … or even get into the Kia Super League if your name wasn’t known in those arenas. So yes, in those two years the investment and priorities from the ECB changed, the athleticism of the girls improved massively, and there was a growing audience there to watch.”
Going back to that World Cup final in 2017, did Phoebe feel (like I did) that England’s cause looked hopeless as India closed in on their victory target with seven wickets in hand?
Phoebe laughed: “Yes, most definitely! It was an amazing spectacle, and I think that’s something as a player you don’t always appreciate, but I was very much sat on the other side at that point.
“I’d not played for two years and I’d gone along as a fan and a friend, but it was a fantastic game, incredible to watch; and that just showed how far the game had come. Often in those situations, a female team might look dead and buried, but the depth and ability of the squad was amazing and so good to see; and hopefully in the Rachel Heyhoe-Flint Trophy, you saw that in some of Northern Diamonds games as well … comebacks from seven or eight [wickets] down, where we were able to turn things round because of the depth of the squad.
“I think it shows that the level of competition at international level is coming through to the regional game as well, which is really helping the development of the game; it’s brilliant!”
The past year has been dominated by the effects of Covid-19; how has this impacted that development?
“On the negative side, we’re unable to get girls and boys watching the game in stadiums; and I think when you’re actually live, you feel the game a lot more; that emotion really comes through. And I think you almost get that extra feeling of ‘I want to play’, rather than ‘I’m just enjoying watching’.
“The fact that kids aren’t able to play sport at the moment … it’s just horrible, and obviously that’s having a huge negative impact on the development and growth of the game.
“For women’s cricket, we’re classed as elite, and the only reason is because of the new professional contracts that came in just a couple of months ago. We’re able to train three times a week at the moment under the current restrictions, so some progression of the game is still happening despite Covid being around.
“We’ve never had this level of winter training, so the standard of the regional game next season should be significantly better because you’ve got over a hundred girls training full-time over the winter because we’re now classed as elite, and very privileged compared to some other sports.”
Having mentioned the increased level of training, what are the main changes that Phoebe has noticed?
“I came back into the game two years ago at a county standard; the county season lasted eight to ten weeks and you basically just played at the weekend. With the Northern Diamonds, it’s almost like an extended version of the Kia Super League, in that it was happening over two months instead of one, and you have every single training facility and coach at your fingertips. We even had a physio at training, so if you had a niggle or weren’t feeling great, she was able to manipulate your shoulder or work on an injury there and then.
“You had a strength and conditioning coach, bowling, batting and fielding coaches; and that’s the biggest difference - we’re operating now as a professional sports team…
“That level of support had been available for the Kia Super League, but that was only a four-week season, and now this is ongoing, so it’s a shift in demands and expectations of good county cricketers who would never have expected to be in this arena at this age – but it’s absolutely unbelievable and it’s one of the big reasons why I changed the trajectory of my career to become a professional cricketer.”
All the hard work must be having a positive impact on Phoebe as a cricketer?
“Definitely. Even during the Rachel Heyhoe-Flint competition I could see a huge change in my game. I’d never trained so often with that level of dedication from the same coaches. You could play three or four games a week, but what’s made the biggest difference is actually having the same coaches to focus on your development, push you in the right direction and talk through situations and players you’re going to face…”
One thing you notice when watching the shorter form of the game, whether that be 20 or 50 over matches, is the wide range of variations that bowlers now have available. Back when I was playing, I had a quicker ball that normally got hit for six, and a much slower, flighted delivery that usually went even further … how much work is Phoebe doing to develop some hopefully much more successful bowling options?
“This is something that we’re in the process of working on at the moment,” she smiled. “Now I have the time, it’s a case of how can I extend my toolbox to have a slower ball that I’m confident with. I had a slower ball in the summer, but I may have only bowled it once or twice…
“So having a confident slower ball, varying the lines that you’re bowling, whether you’re coming round the wicket, wide of the wicket, it’s just about having that freedom of time to test these things out. We’re doing a lot of work on my run-up at the moment, which I’m very much focussing on, but then I think I’ll be moving into a lot of the variation work.
“I think one of the big things is remaining focussed, because there’s so much variation in the game. If you forget about your strengths, you lose that core of what you’re good at; it’s a fine balance that we’re working through at the moment.”
One particular aspect of bowling that has always interested me is the mental process of utilising whatever variations you may have at your disposal. Whilst there is an element of repetition or ‘normality’ with a stock ball, my ability to bowl a successful variation would depend on confidence levels that could ebb and flow during a season … or even during an individual spell. How does Phoebe approach that mental side of the game and trying something different in a pressure situation?
“We have access to a sports psychologist as part of the new professional structure, which I do need to take advantage of at some point.
“Thinking back to the first Northern Diamonds game I played, which was against Central Sparks at Grace Road in Leicester, Katherine Brunt had played in the first two games – she owned that spot as the opening bowler and I came in when she rejoined the England bubble – it was the first time I’d opened the bowling in the regional competition, and those nerves and self-doubt just overtook my performance.
“I bowled two no-balls and after three overs I was taken off and wasn’t able to bowl another ball in that innings. It was mortifying, but I had to find an inner strength, an inner character to bounce back and play my part in the field because I knew I had 44 overs to still make an impact in the game.
“When I went into bat, it was the game when we were seven down; 110 for seven chasing 220. Beth Langston and Jenny Gunn put on 60 or 70 together and got us up to 180, and Jenny and I needed 40 or so to win the game. It was finding the inner strength to come through that made me think about the game very differently; you need to trust your ability in that next moment
“For example, when I was holding the ball, I was probably thinking about my next over, or the game next week, rather than the here and now and this ball that I’ve got to deliver. And that was what I took into the second innings with the bat; I just needed to focus ball-by-ball, Jenny was obviously a fantastic mentor, she just told me to enjoy it, it’s amazing being out here; and that was very much the mindset I took into the rest of the competition – enjoying every game, and thinking about the next moment, rather than too far ahead…
“The mindset is really difficult to crack. I’ve tried to take a lot of what I’ve learned in business into sport, backing my ability, trusting my confidence, and that has really helped, but the psychological support is there and I do think it’s something I will need to tap into…
“I should also mention a charity bike ride that I did with my friend Emma Saggers in 2018. We cycled from Ascot to Italy; it was an amazing experience that really helped me recognise that if you put your mind to something, anything is possible. Certainly putting myself out of my comfort zone and being able to succeed changed my mindset … and, in a sense, my approach to cricket.”
This was such a fascinating insight, and I loved hearing about how Phoebe had found the internal strength to turn a difficult moment into a positive that extended well beyond the particular game in question; but how did she reflect on leaving the relative security of her marketing job for the challenges of professional sport?
“Obviously, it was very daunting. I suppose when you’re in a career from a business perspective, you can almost see what the next step or stage is, and look at parallels around you to see what’s achievable; it is quite a secure place to be in. The worst case scenario you lose your job, you get a very similar job. Entering the sporting arena was a big step, but it was something I really wanted to do, and I just couldn’t turn down the opportunity.
“I loved it during last summer and found it so enjoyable, but I suppose there’s that doubt about security, and that pressure that comes from being a sportswoman. You’re very much in that arena; you perform well, you get that next gig … but that ‘performance’ is the next game, so it’s impossible to know how long the career might be.
“I look at what a lot of my friends are doing, the social norms as a 29-year old, and the trajectory that you’ve created and the path you’ve carved is there to take, but the opportunities with cricket, the enjoyment and fulfilment will undoubtedly be second to none.
“It felt like a bigger decision than it probably was, but there was never any doubt in my mind what choice I was going to make.”
Like Phoebe’s father, my dad was also a good cricketer (he was Leicestershire captain back in 1962). Although he gave me a lifelong love of the game, he never put any pressure on me to replicate his achievements on the field (which is just as well, really). That said, I always felt I’d let him down in some way by not being as good as player as he had been…
It’s clear the Graham genes have been passed down more successfully, but has Phoebe ever felt any pressure to follow in her father’s sporting footsteps?
“Before Dad passed away, one of the things he spoke to me about was for me to be happy and do the things I wanted to do. I think he recognised, particularly in his last couple of years, I was playing cricket for him because I knew how much pleasure he got from it – and I loved how much he enjoyed getting out. Probably until that last year I didn’t feel the pressure to play, I just wanted to play for him really. So we had a chat about doing what made me happy and, at that point, I didn’t want to play cricket any more…
“There was never any pressure from him, he just loved that we enjoyed playing sport. He was really chilled out, ‘enjoy the game Phoebs’ and he’d always talk me up after a game … he was such a positive parent.
“I started playing again for me rather than for anyone else, and I think that’s been the biggest shift in the way I’ve approached the game, and the way that I’m thinking about it. Obviously Dad would love that I’m playing cricket, but now I’m doing it for me, because I want to, and that feels quite empowering.”
Although I never knew Peter, several of my former Gateshead Fell team mates had played minor counties cricket alongside him during the early-mid-90s. Listening to Phoebe talking about her father, I wish I’d had the chance to meet him … but I’m grateful I never had to face him!
Moving on to women’s sport in general, Phoebe recently set up a website, ‘TipnFlip’, with the aim of promoting sporting equality; and I was interested to find out more…
“It’s something that’s massively important to me; the development of women’s sport and the opportunities in women’s sport. That was another reason why I felt I just couldn’t turn down this contract. I felt like I’d never had this opportunity before, and despite being 29, it’s never too late to take something on that you’re really passionate about.
“TipnFlip was something that I created during lockdown because women’s sport is at a tipping point … perceptions need to be flipped and changed in order to be able to develop and revolutionise women’s sport. We were discussing the change in the game since the 2017 World Cup; the reason is that these cricketers see themselves as athletes and people are now viewing them as athletes. Perceptions are changing and that investment in the game four or five years ago is now paying dividends, with audiences coming into watch and girls participating, all of which is helping the growth game.
“It’s that spinning wheel; if you invest in players and the trajectory of the game, then the audiences will come. I just think a lot of the time there are negative perceptions about women’s sport. It’s just something that I’m super-passionate about. By increasing opportunities to everyone and seeing sport as equal, it’ll help develop the game and open up more careers for young females coming through now they’ve got role models they can relate to.”
Is media, including social media a stumbling block?
“Massively … if you read the back pages of newspapers today, or look at the BBC Sport or Sky Sports’ news feed today, maybe five percent of the coverage will be on women’s sport. Now if you want it to be normalised for young females that are looking at the world of sport, it’s got to be more like 50/50; but that credibility about how sport is perceived needs to be flipped for it to become 50/50.
“It’s improving steadily over time, and there’s probably more coverage now than there ever was. You can see it visually through the likes of Alex Scott, Ebony Rainford-Brent, Isa Guha and commentators in the game just helping to change those perceptions and challenge what has been the norm in sport for years.
“I think there’s still such a long way to go, to keep drumming that message home; and that’s one of the reasons why I want to try and somehow use my voice to talk about women’s sport and help normalise it.”
We chatted about the commercial or financial side of sport which I feel has brought an element of cynicism into the likes of men’s football that isn’t apparent in women’s sport; and much as you can admire the skill and dedication of the female athletes, their love and enjoyment of the sport in question often shines through as well.
“I think it’s growing women’s sport in a sustainable way,” Phoebe nodded, “so that those core attitudes of women’s sport still remain despite it becoming slightly more commercial. In women’s football at the moment, there are big transfers from the US, and I think that the Manchester United girls [Tobin Heath and Christen Press] sold more shirts than any of the men’s players. So it’s coming, but you’ve just got to make sure it’s grown in such a way that we appreciate what our values and beliefs are.
“I actually think there’s a lot that we can learn from the men’s and women’s games. Thinking about me as a fast bowler for example, I’m 5’11” nearly six foot and looking to use my levers in the best way, and in terms of how he uses his height and body composition one of the best comparisons is Stuart Broad.
“But if I’m trying to look at a sweep shot, how to play the best sweep and play slower bowlers, I’d use examples like Tammy Beaumont and Dani Wyatt; how they manipulate ball, how they play spin.
“So I think you can learn from both games and that’s the best way to see them; they’re almost two different sports, and there are areas from both where you can learn, and grown the total game.
“The way women’s cricket is played there’s a lot more spin and swing, the ball gets manipulated a lot more because there isn’t that power. We can learn from the men’s game in the way they use their power to generate more pace or hit the ball over the top, whereas the men’s game could learn from the way we use a lot more flight or swing the ball.
“It’s a case of not seeing them against each other, but how you can use the men’s and women’s games to grow the overall game, and how those comparisons can normalise conversation and perception.”
That brought to an end a thoroughly absorbing conversation. It was an absolute pleasure to chat with Phoebe and be able to share her story. I will certainly be looking out for the Northern Diamonds’ fixtures this summer, and if Covid has relented enough for spectators to be allowed back into the grounds, I’ll find my way to one of the games and hopefully watch Phoebe and her team mates whilst enjoying a long overdue stroll round the boundary.
© Richard Kirby and Phoebe Graham 2021