The Hundred: Welsh Fire's Tammy Beaumont on captaincy, a fresh start and bouncing back

She's new to Cardiff, having moved from London Spirit, and captain of the team that finished bottom of the table Women's Hundred last year - her first cricket since the personal disappointment of missing the Commonwealth Games.

But it's a pressure that Beaumont embraces.

She's enjoying a day off in the Welsh sun, a planned beach outing with her teammates and her dog Indie, who is always perched lovingly by her side.

The 31-year-old takes her leadership seriously but calmly, both on and off the pitch .

"I really like getting away from cricket," says Beaumont. "We have a real family vibe to our team. We have five kids and our unofficial team dog here, so it's good to have those distractions."

And when it comes to cricket, this is a new Fire team looking to improve after a tough first year.

Beaumont is one of the key recruits, not only for her captaincy, but as a batsman experienced and aggressive at the top of the order.

"There's probably not much expectation towards us this year, which means we can just go about our business and play it our way,” she says.

"We have about eight or nine new players so they don't have that history."

The captaincy is not completely new to Beaumont. It captained the Kent Women and the Southern Vipers, but played for several years under two of England's most successful skippers, Charlotte Edwards and Heather Knight

But it's something that excites her, an opportunity she felt she couldn't refuse when offered by Welsh Fire.

"It gives me the opportunity to come in, progress and build something quite special As captain, I want to empower players to bring out the best in themselves.

"I was a senior player for England for a while, and was involved in leadership groups. I haven't necessarily thought about being England captain, but it's a skill I really want to develop during The Hundred."

With the women's competition starting later than the men's this year due to the Commonwealth Games, Beaumont is confident the game can build on its groundbreaking 2021 debut.

After a first year impacted by Covid , players can have their families stay and many of the world's best players from Australia are involved - including Annabel Sutherland, Nicola Carey and Rachael Haynes joining Beaumont at Welsh Fire.

"It's amazing for young players to be able to learn from the best in the world," he said. she added.

" Particularly for me, from a leadership perspective, Rachael Haynes has so much experience than Australia vice-captain. Unfortunately for us, it always seems to be the Australian trailblazers, but that will eventually change!"

And change seems to be materializing.