Mature Trenaman ready for England challenge

When Rachel Trenaman loads her kit bag onto the airport baggage scales ahead of her departure to England for the upcoming Australia A tour, she can expect it to weigh in slightly heavier than her teammates. 

And it's not because she's foreseeing the need for extra bats, pads or gloves ahead of her first ever tour to England.

Quite contrarily, 18-year-old Trenaman is leaving plenty of room for her school books and laptop as her all-important Year 12 exams draw closer. 

The New South Wales leg-spinner has been around the traps for some time now and has established herself as a genuine predecessor to the current crop of Australian cricketers. 

Her leadership qualities have already been identified. 

As a 16-year-old, Trenaman was named captain of Australia's Under-19 50-over squad that toured South Africa in 2018. It was this tri-series that saw Trenaman produce a blistering century against South Africa Emerging Women. 

A member of Australia's National Performance Squad, Trenaman played in the Governor General's XI match against New Zealand in February earlier this year and made her debut with the Sydney Thunder in the Rebel Women's Big Bash League last summer. 

Image Id: 5376A5631FD448BBBC683384901DBB87 Image Caption: Trenaman in action for the Sydney Thunder // Getty Images

Now, Trenaman is preparing for what is possibly the biggest opportunity that her short career has presented so far. 

The Australia A tour of England is running parallel to Australia's Women's Ashes campaign and gives the 13-player squad of international hopefuls and up-and-coming young guns the chance to ply their trade against the senior England side as well as an England Academy side. 

For those on the outskirts of the notably steady Australia squad, tours of this magnitude are a cherished rarity. 

For this reason, it's reasonable to assume that most of the 'A' squad are directing much of their time and energy towards performing well on this landmark tour. 

Trenaman, however, is in a unique situation that is requiring her attention to be divided between two incredibly significant facets of her life.

Four weeks after Trenaman returns from England, she will begin trial exams in preparation for her final HSC exams in October.  

We've all heard tales of athletes who have pursued their dreams at the cost of an education and found themselves wondering 'what next' when the pathway doesn't quite connect to a career, but Trenaman, armed with the understanding that cricket can be a fickle game, is conscious of dividing her efforts evenly. 

"Education is a high priority to me, so is cricket," Trenaman told cricket.com.au. 

"I fully understand that I could trip down the stairs tomorrow and not be able to play cricket again so you definitely need something to fall back on." 

Speaking to the Wagga Wagga student, it's almost like she's done it all before and has hindsight on her side – such is her measured and mature approach to this formative time in her life. 

The pressures faced by Year 12 students are well documented. The fact that Trenaman is keeping on top of her studies, in addition to putting in the hours demanded of an elite athlete is a testament to her work ethic. 

"I'm basically just doing work for school whenever I can - 15 minutes here and there can make such a big difference in the scheme of things," she said. 

"Also, to try and to keep on top of skills and that kind of thing I'm getting up in the morning and knocking some of that stuff out of the way as well as doing a bit of study before I head off to school.

"I guess I'm trying to maximise the hours in the day and try and get as much done, and then come home and do skills and then more homework.

"It's pretty full on I guess, but I guess realistically it's only 12 months of your life and I've got about four months left now. I've just got to keep grinding and hopefully it all pays off." 

At 18, Trenaman is among the youngest in the 'A' squad that is littered with players at different stages of their careers. 

With Annabel Sutherland – also in Year 12 – ruled out of the tour with an ankle injury, 18-year-old Maddy Darke comes into the squad after earning her first state contract with the New South Wales Breakers this year. 

Sophie Molineux, Tahlia McGrath, Molly Strano, Belinda Vakarewa and Amanda-Jade Wellington have all debuted in Australian colours and will be viewing the ‘A' Tour as a potential route back into the national side.

At the other end of the spectrum, Erin Burns, 30, Georgia Redmayne, 25, and Sammy-Jo Johnson, 26, have recently flourished on the domestic scene to earn prized spots on the tour of England.

CommBank Australia A Tour of England

Australia A squad: Maitlan Brown, Erin Burns, Maddy Darke, Josie Dooley, Heather Graham, Sammy-Jo Johnson, Tahlia McGrath, Sophie Molineux, Georgia Redmayne, Molly Strano, Rachel Trenaman, Belinda Vakarewa, Amanda-Jade Wellington

Warm-up match

June 29: England v Australia A, Loughborough

One-day matches

July 3: England Women’s Academy v Australia, Loughborough

July 5: England Women’s Academy v Australia, Loughborough

July 8: England Women’s Academy v Australia, Loughborough

Three-day tour match

July 12-14: England v Australia A, Millfield School, Street

20-over matches

July 17: England Women’s Academy v Australia, Millfield School, Street

July 19: England Women’s Academy v Australia, Millfield School, Street