Fighting a restless night’s sleep on the other side of the world, Georgia Redmayne rolled over to check her phone in an effort to distract herself hoping sleep might soon follow. Instead, she saw a message from the Australian head selector, and any hopes of a full eight hours were dashed.
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After more than seven years balancing an endlessly busy schedule as a professional cricketer, university student and now registered doctor, 2013 Bradman Scholar Georgia Redmayne has recently been forced to slow down. Currently in hotel quarantine in Surfers’ Paradise upon return from The Hundred, she has been given the chance to reflect on a whirlwind period of her life; a period that has culminated with selection in the Australian squad.
“It’s been a bit draining,” she said of her journey thus far.
Something of an understatement, Redmayne has bounced between Tasmania, New South Wales, Perth and Queensland over the last seven years as she has balanced work and life as a professional domestic cricketer. Happy to be more settled now – based in Brisbane and playing for Queensland as well as the Brisbane Heat – she is starting to really reap the rewards.
“I’m picking casual local jobs where I can so that it fits around cricket,” she said. “I’m really happy and really settled – it’s a good spot for me now.”
Having finished her internship at Tweed Hospital on the Queensland / NSW border at the start of 2020, Redmayne is enjoying a greater sense of control in 2021.
“Now that I’m a registered doctor, I am a bit more in control of when and where I work,” she said.
It provides a nice contrast for the twenty-seven-year-old who has become used to asking for time off in order to squeeze in as much cricket as possible.
“At the end of the WNCL last year, our draw changed about four or five times,” she said. “I felt terrible.” She can laugh about it now, however and is grateful for how it all panned out. “They (the team at the hospital) were fantastic, and super flexible,” she recalled. “But you do still feel a bit guilty at the time.”
Now captain of Queensland, Redmayne’s work as a doctor has had to take a back seat as she continues to make a name for herself inside the boundary rope. In fine form last year, she blasted 531 runs across eight matches, including 134* in the final to lead Queensland to their maiden WNCL title and put a rubber stamp on a dominant year personally.
Redmayne was the queen of domestic cricket last season (source: Cricket.com.au)
“I’d done everything I could,” she said. “I had my best WBBL season and WNCL season and finished off the domestic season really strongly.”
But for a self-aware Redmayne, who also headlined Brisbane Heat’s run-scoring tally – more than a hundred runs clear of Grace Harris – there was no illusion that higher honours were guaranteed.
“I’d come around to the idea that I could perform as best as possible and they still might never look at you,” she said. “You just have to give yourself the best chance, but even if that’s not enough you can know you’ve still achieved other things as well.”
So, having put her name in the back of the selectors’ minds at home, Redmayne packed her bags to travel across the world, to be part of the Welsh Fire in the inaugural edition of The Hundred. An opportunity not to be missed, Redmayne is effusive in her praise for the new format.
“I think it was a huge success for the ECB,” she said. “The amount of tickets that were sold to families and kids who were seeing their first cricket games – it brings a whole new audience and it’ll only keep growing.”
On a personal level, she had every reason to enjoy it. The second leading run-scorer for the Welsh Fire, Redmayne found herself in the top ten of run-getters across the tournament. More than the continuation of her own good form, however, Redmayne lauded the experience as a whole.
“We were regularly playing in front of 10,000 plus – at the grounds you grow up watching on TV,” she said. Though a little disappointed that the fixture didn’t line up for her to get a game at Lord’s, she was incredibly proud to be a part of it, “it was fantastic for the women’s game and something I really enjoyed playing.”
Star of the game's newest format
As much as it gave something new for the fans, The Hundred was flush with novel experiences for the players too – and not just fewer balls to face.
"The crowds were really involved,” Redmayne recalls. “You’re trying to field and you’re getting heckled. That was certainly something new, but we all really enjoyed and embraced it,” she laughed.
Additionally, playing at the Welsh Fire meant that she could play alongside English legend, Sarah Taylor. The pre-eminent wicket-keeper batter in the women’s game, Taylor has been something of a role model for Redmayne.
“She’s someone I’ve looked up to for a long time and is one of the best wicket-keepers to have played the game. So to be teammates with her and learn from her was a really cool experience as well.”
Churning out runs and inspired by the bona fide international stars around her, Redmayne was about to get a call that could change the trajectory of her career, too.
If she could stay awake for it, that is.
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Back to that restless night in Wales, Redmayne is content now when recounting the story.
“It was all a little bit complicated,” she laughed. “I had a message from the Aussie selector back home wanting to know when I’d be in and out of quarantine and that sort of thing.”
After replying with the dates, her phone pinged back straight away.
Are you free for a call? – the message read. This paging had a different feel to any she had received at a hospital.
“I thought I probably want to be really awake for this call (it was 2am in Wales), so I asked if he could wait a couple of hours and I gave him a call the next day when I’d woken up,” she recalls.
“He informed me I’d been selected for the squad to play against India. I was over the moon – absolutely stoked.”
So, with an added spring in her step as she headed down to breakfast, Redmayne was quick to call her parents to share the good news. A celebratory phone call a long time coming, it is a sweet reward for the wicket-keeper batter.
Get to know Georgia Redmayne (source: Australian Women's Cricket Team)
“It was really nice acknowledgment for the improvements I’ve made in my game in the last season or so,” she said. “To be included was special and I hope I get the chance to run out on the park in the green and gold.”
Typically humble, Redmayne alluded to the fact the she thinks she is a beneficiary of the “larger squads” that have been picked as a result of COVID-19 complications. Too easily discounting the irresistible weight of runs she has put forth, there is a level of serendipity to the timing of Redmayne’s selection. With two multi-format series in the one summer – the Ashes will follow in January and February – she could not hope for a better time to solidify a position in the Australian team, and the prospect of a two Test summer is a tantalising one.
“To pull on the Baggy Green would be so incredibly special,” she said. “So few people get to do it and it would be great reward for all the hard work that you have to put in.” That said, Redmayne would love to pull on any cap if it means representing her country.
“If I do get that opportunity (to represent Australia), then I’ll definitely make the most of it.”
Still with a couple of hurdles to overcome before the first ball can be bowled in Mackay, Redmayne is one of twelve in the squad currently quarantining in the sunshine state. Disjointed and perhaps a touch disconcerting for a first-time international, she is realistic about the challenges that she and her squad mates need to overcome.
“It’s a bit of a different preparation for everyone, but that’s part of the challenge you’ve got to overcome with professional sport these days.”
Preparing with an exercise bike and strength equipment provided by Queensland Cricket, she was quick to find a silver lining.
“At least with the series being moved to Queensland I don’t have to travel interstate and quarantine again,” she laughed.
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As she stands on the verge of achieving her lifelong dream of playing for Australia, Redmayne is proud when looking back on her connection to the Bradman Foundation, too. The 2013 Bradman Scholar, she stood out amongst a nationwide pool of applicants thanks to her academic success and early cricketing prowess.
Georgia with Lauren Cheatle (Sydney Sixers, NSW Breakers and Bowral local) at the Bradman Museum in 2020
“The Scholarship is something I’ve always been really proud of and it’s a huge honour to be associated with the Bradman name,” she said. “It’s a lifetime association to the Foundation – it’s like you’re part of a family.”
A sentiment shared by those at the Foundation, as well, Executive Director, Rina Hore was thrilled to see Redmayne selected in the Australian squad.
“We are so proud of all of our Scholars,” Ms Hore said. “For me, it is great to see that the Scholarship is achieving what it sets out to; allowing young people to balance their studies while pursuing their cricket dreams. Georgia is a great example of that.”
Content when considering how the Scholarship helped her development, Redmayne recalls that it came at a time when she was in the first year of her degree, trying to balance a NSW Breakers development contract and all of the associated pressure. Citing the financial support (the scholarship is worth $15,000 over three years), she felt the greatest benefits lie elsewhere.
“I think the connections you make are just fantastic,” she said. Holding back laughter, she can still hardly believe that upon receiving the scholarship she had lunch with former Prime Minister, John Howard.
“You really do meet some pretty incredible people and it starts to feel like a family.”
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From the front line in a hospital ward to seeing off the new ball, Redmayne is used to dealing with pressure. Having worked tirelessly to give herself the best chance to succeed at whatever she chooses, it is heartening to see her resilience rewarded.
However it pans out in the next little while, Redmayne is proud of what she has achieved to date. Scrubs or whites, bat in hand or otherwise, she has the world at her feet and continues to create an enduring legacy that will inspire a generation of girls to follow their dreams.
That said, Dr Redmayne would love to be paged one more time this summer – into the Australian top order. And that’s a call she’d take any time of day.
Georgia has kindly offered to donate some of her kit from The Hundred to our Museum. It will be on display once we re-open.
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