Alex Hartley ready to prove a point after tough 12 months: "I still believe I’m good enough to play for England"

SAM MORSHEAD: The slow left-armer is one of the most bubbly, excitable characters on the circuit but over recent months, Hartley's stapled smile has on occasion come a little loose around the edges

Behind a naturally sparky exterior, it’s been a difficult year for Alex Hartley.

The England slow left-armer is one of the most bubbly, excitable characters on the circuit - prolific on social media and a regular, jaunty guest on the radio.

But over recent months, Hartley’s stapled smile has on occasion come a little loose around the edges. 

Having lost her place in the England team, she is now in a fight to save her central contract, and that fight begins in this year’s Kia Super League.

“Don’t get me wrong, I need to have a good series to get noticed again,” Hartley told The Cricketer ahead of her Lancashire Thunder side’s opening KSL outing of the year.

“It’s been a pretty tough 12 months sitting on the sidelines. I still believe I’m good enough to play for England and now’s my opportunity to prove that.

“It does leave you wondering what if. But it’s only good for me - it’s going to make me work harder, it’s going to make me prove that I’m good enough to play.

^{Alex Hartley wants to earn an England recall}

“It’s a tough one to switch off from. You’re constantly thinking: ‘what if I lose my contract, what am I going to do in the future’. But on the other hand I have to think that I have nothing to lose.

“I have to go out and perform, show what I can do. There are days when I think: ‘I’m going to lose my contract, this is the end’. But there are days where I know I’m good enough and tell myself ‘don’t worry about it’.”

At 25 it seems daft to suggest that her career might be on the wane but Hartley is humble enough to recognise the quality of the competition around her.

Several young spinners have been brought through the England set-up over the past two years - and the likes of Sophie Ecclestone, now considered the best on the planet, Kirstie Gordon, Sophia Dunkley, Mady Villiers and Co are all blocking Hartley’s route back to the first team.

It is a log-jam, and the reason she is readying herself for bad news when her central contract is up for renewal in the new year.

“It’s a very difficult situation to be in but I suppose I’ve got to get used to it,” she said.

“My outlook is that I’m not going to get one and I’ve got to take that as a positive. I’ve had a fantastic career and if it ends tomorrow then no one can take it away from me. I still love playing cricket and I still love playing for Lancashire, so even if I did lose my England contract, I’d still play cricket. I love it.”

VISIT THE KSL HUB

Hartley’s international career can be easily split into two halves - she has six wickets at 41s in ODIs since the start of 2018, substantially down on her career average of 24.35. 

Some might shy away from the statistics, drawing the curtains to a dip in form. But not this daughter of Blackburn.

She is astute enough to accept that in order to turn things around she has to acknowledge where she has gone wrong and, with typical Lancastrian bullishness, she is adamant to make her point over the next four weeks of KSL competition.

“Sometimes you drop in form. Last summer I definitely wasn’t performing my best and I lost my spot,” she said. 

“(England coach) Mark Robinson debuted a few more left-arm spinners, much to my delight.

“This summer I’m bowling back to my best and now it’s a case of proving that and taking wickets again.

“Even more so now, with the situation I’m in - will I, won’t I get another England contract - I’ve got a point to prove.”

Hartley is part of a Lancashire side which has deliberately tweaked its selection structure over the past year to ensure that as many players as possible represent the county in the women’s 50 and 20-over competitions, and turn out in Thunder colours in the KSL.

If the theory rings true, that will give the team a sense of unity and mutual understanding. And, as Hartley explains, it helps that many of the squad come from the north west.

“We’ve got quite a lot of players who have grown up around Lancashire. We’ve made a few signings who haven’t but we’ve made a real emphasis on making sure our Lancashire Super League players are playing county cricket as well, which means we’ve more or less had the same team all summer,” she said.

“That will really help.

“There is a sense that you belong here. The more players we get representing Lancashire, the better it’s going to be for our Super League team.”

Finals Day is the initial plan for the Thunder, who missed out on the occasion in the final round of group games last year but still recorded their best ever season with a fourth-place finish.

They will once again be bolstered by the clean-striking Indian batter Harmanpreet Kaur, and have South Africa’s former Yorkshire Diamonds captain Sune Luus as a legspin option. Dunkley has joined too, and alongside Ecclestone and Hartley mean Thunder look very strong in the slow bowling department.

“We’re really excited, we’ve got a strong squad and we really feel like we can compete this year,” Hartley said.

“The fact we’ve got seven internationals this year really helps. We’ve got a lot of girls who are hungry to prove a point. We’ve got Soph, who’s the world’s best spinner, and we’ve got Crossy (captain Kate Cross), who’s had a phenomenal summer - we’ve got a fantastic squad.”

Next year, the KSL will be disbanded to make way for The Hundred, while women’s cricket in England and Wales will undergo a major restructure, with eight regional hubs taking over from the existing county system in all but T20 cricket.

It’s a brave new dawn for the sport, and one that is being met with trepidation by many. Hartley is treating the changes with nervous excitement.

“It’s a little bit disappointing because the KSL is a fantastic competition and obviously I’ve been lucky enough to play in it every year, and I’ve seen it grow and grow. It’s only getting bigger year by year,” she said.

“Don’t get me wrong, I’m disappointed it’s going but it’s being replaced by another fantastic competition that hopefully will give us the same opportunities as we do now.

“There’s going to be more money behind the competition, there are going to be more players getting paid better so I can only see it as a positive really.”

Will Hartley be a regular England international once more by the time The Hundred finally arrives?

She is not the sort of character you would be quick to bet against.

To celebrate England winning the World Cup you can subscribe to The Cricketer for just £20.19. Click here to learn more

Subscribe to The Cricketer for exclusive content every day: The inside track on England's Test tour with George Dobell in Pakistan, award-winning analysis, breaking news and interviews and the only place for in-depth county coverage all year round. Plus: An ad-free app experience at your fingertips. Subscribe to thecricketer.com today for just £1.