Jenny Gunn wants to help young players realise England dream

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) awarded full-time professional contracts to 41 women cricketers as part of the new domestic regional set up on December 3. Former England international Jenny Gunn, who is one of the five players who received a contract with the Northern Diamonds side, says the upcoming season probably will be her last but wants the younger players to push her for a place.



“This coming season will probably be my last, but I really want the youngsters to kick me out of the door and say, ‘This is my time now’,” Gunn told Yorkshire CCC.



“I’m the worst retiree because I thought this summer would be my last. But I enjoyed it and thought, ‘Why not’ when this contract offer came. I had another contract offer. I won’t say from where. But I know there’s a few people moaning on Twitter about me getting a contract at my age.”



“But if you look at the bigger picture, I know I’m not going to play for England. So, I’m always going to be around and have played at that level. I’ll be able to help future England players get there.”



34-year-old Gunn was part of the Diamonds side in this year’s Rachael Heyhoe-Flint Trophy, domestic one-day tournament, when the North-East region-based side reached the final of the competition.



ALSO READ: Hollie Armitage, Katie Levick believe England are closing the gap on Australia



“Straightaway knowing the set-up that Yorkshire have – having played for the Yorkshire Diamonds and in the KSL and the county team as well – it was a no-brainer,” Gunn added. “I’m so glad I did because the squad just bonded straightaway.”



“I was happy with my contributions, but I’m confident we will all be better prepared for next summer. It was a bit last minute this summer with me coming in, but next year we’ll have a lot more plans and I will be able to execute my role much better.”



Gunn, who played 259 internationals for England, believes Diamonds have a good balance of youngsters and experienced players and are keen to progress to the next level.



“We have a really good mix of youngsters and players who have played a decent amount of county cricket in the past. We also have a few experienced players. It was a really nice balance, and we had a lot of fun in challenging times,” said the allrounder.



“Phoebe (Graham), Katie (Levick), Beth (Langston), Ami (Campbell) and Rachel (Hopkins) have all played county cricket for years, but they are still desperate to progress.”



Gunn, who retired from international cricket in October 2019, was doing some coaching work with the Cricket New South Wales when the COVID-19 pandemic struck and she came back home.







“I retired from England, and my plan straightaway was to try and get to Australia and work over there. I did some unpaid work experience with Cricket New South Wales last winter. It’s a lot different out there, so I did some work with them and for my club side Sydney,” she said.



“I came back in March because, at the time, my sister had COVID and I thought, ‘If something happens to one of my family members, I don’t want to be in another country.”



“I came back and, when cricket got going, Dani Hazell said to me, ‘What are you doing?’ I didn’t have a lot else going on, and I’d played last winter in Australia and felt in alright shape. So, I said yes and really enjoyed it.”



Gunn is currently coaching male and female players at Trent College and feels her getting to coach the male players shows the change in mindset and the progress women’s cricket has made in the country.



“I really enjoy the stuff I do at Trent College; I’m coaching lads and girls across all years, but at the moment it’s just the first team. It’s different having the experience of helping the lads out because I’ve played against a few of them, but it’s showing that women’s cricket is getting so much better in this country that lads don’t mind being coached by a female,” Gunn concluded.