Never imagined my daughter would pick up six wickets in the final, says Anya Shrubsole’s father

07/25/2017

After the man of the match performance by Anya Shrubsole in the Women’s World Cup final, her father Ian Shurbsole has shared his happiness and stated that it was a like a dream-come-true moment for him. A former cricketer himself, Ian also added Anya has always been single-minded and focused.

On Sunday, Somerset pacer Anya Shrubsole realised her childhood dream of playing at the hallowed Lord's turf and in the process, she also etched her name in the annals of the history by producing the spell of her life, picking up 4 for 11 in the space of 16 balls to trigger a spectacular collapse of the Indian team.

Her performance not only led the hosts to a nerve-wracking nine-run win, it also left her family with joy and excitement. After the win, Anya’s father, Ian Shrubsole stated that never in his wildest dreams did he think his daughter would pick up six wickets to win the trophy for the country.

Speaking to the media after the match, Ian said, “I got proper excited, I did a lot of shouting a lot of jumping up and down. I sat down between balls but then jumped up every ball. In contrast, my wife Sam she sat down in the box hiding, literally hiding not watching any of it,” reported the Indian Express.

He further added, “My daughter took six wickets at Lords to win the match for England – We are super proud, excellent, amazingly proud, whatever you want to say. I never imagined in my wildest dreams that she would pick up six for plus a run-out – the only thing she missed out on was getting out there and hitting a few boundaries.”

Only at the age of 10, Shrubsole had come to watch her father play for Bath club in the national club championship. 16 years after that day, she wrote her own fairytale script by bowling an awe-inspiring spell to pick up the player of the match award in the final. Her father revealed that incident, which ignited a dream in Anya's mind.

“Anya first came down to play at Bath when she was five or six. I didn’t really coach her, to be honest, because I passed her over to other coaches. She was always very determined and single-minded, knowing exactly what she wanted to do,” Ian said.

After winning the match, Anya also said that her father’s Twitter account was flooded with congratulatory messages. “Dad's Twitter profile has gone through the roof! If someone had said to me that all this time later I'd be at Lords, winning a World Cup final, I would have laughed them away – you never think that sort of thing happens.

“You always dream that you might play, nothing more than that. You don’t get caught up in the individual performances, all that matters is that the team wins, thats what you think about. But it has, its a dream, and makes that photo all the more special,” she said.

Never imagined my daughter would pick up six wickets in the final, says Anya Shrubsole’s father

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