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Paging Doctor Redmayne: Georgia finally gets the call

Georgia Redmayne reflects on her maiden Aussie call-up, as she prepares for the upcoming multi-format series against India

Picture this.

You’ve woken up in the middle of the night in the United Kingdom, glanced at your phone and noticed a text message from your state coach, saying the Australia national selector wants to chat to you.

Still half-sleep, you remember Australia will soon host India across all formats and it occurs to you that this might be the call.

In an age of instant gratification, it is safe to imagine most people would have taken the call immediately.

Not so Georgia Redmayne. 

"I sent a message to him saying, ‘Hi Flegs, I heard you were wondering about my quarantine?’," Redmayne, the latest addition to Australia’s squad, told The Scoop podcast from hotel quarantine in Brisbane.

"I didn’t really know if it would mean I would be selected.

"He messaged straight back asking if I was free for a call.

"I said, ‘Ooh, probably not, it’s 2.30am sorry ... can we wait until the morning?’

"And then I’m like, what have I done, have I just missed my chance at being selected

"But I didn’t want to be really sleepy and just not on the point when I'm talking to him.

"You want to have a good impression."

It speaks volumes to Redmayne’s focus, patience and perfectionism that she wanted to find out her fate when fully alert and focused, not half-asleep.

Those qualities are the reason the uncapped 27-year-old wicketkeeper-batter has been able to rise to the top of Australian cricket while also forging a career as a medical doctor. They are also the qualities that could see her thrive if handed an international debut later this month.

Although, she is not the complete ice-woman.

"It took me a while (to get to sleep), the brain was racing a bit," she laughed.

"I called him the next morning once I woke up … I was really excited.

"I’d hoped for it but had also kind of resigned myself to the fact that it might never have come.

"I skipped my way down to breakfast that morning."

Redmayne, who was released from hotel quarantine first thing on Tuesday morning after finishing her stint with Welsh Fire in The Hundred late last month, was one of two first-time additions to Australia’s 18-player squad to meet India in three ODIs, one Test and three T20Is from September 21. 

Given the strength of Australia’s star-studded batting line-up, and their abundance of allrounders, there has not been a spare batter in Australia’s squad since the 2019 Ashes.

But Redmayne’s recent form provided an irresistible case for inclusion after a standout 2020-21 summer with bat in hand, which started with a breakout WBBL season for the Brisbane Heat that yielded a career-best 357 runs at a strike rate of 118.6, with three half-centuries.

She followed that up with 531 runs in eight innings for Queensland in the one-day tournament, including three centuries, as she captained them to their maiden title.

Fire captain Redmayne lashes Victoria with superb ton

"It’s been a lot of hard work to get there, I just hope I get a chance and get to show what I can do,” she said.

"For a few years, I've been maybe afraid to say (playing for Australia) was what I wanted to do. But the last few years. I've definitely been open about that with my coaches that's what I'm striving to do.

"I don't just want to be a state cricketer, I want to be the best that I can be and play at international level.

"I really worked hard, especially in the last season.

"At the same time, it's obviously a very strong team and they’re on a world record run of wins in ODI is at the moment. For me, it was always going to be a tough team to get into, with the batting line-up the way it is and with a couple of really good wicketkeepers in there too.

"I'd kind of resigned myself to the fact that I could keep scoring runs in domestic cricket and still never get a go, because of the time I’m playing in, so it was nice to get that call and get one step closer (to a debut)."

Stability in her dual careers has helped Redmayne develop her limited overs cricket across the last two years.

After years of studying medicine in Coffs Harbour while playing as a fly-in, fly-out cricketer for Tasmania and the Hobart Hurricanes, Redmayne is now based full-time on the Gold Coast having taken a job at Tweed Heads Hospital following her graduation, alongside a state contract with Queensland.

Working closely with Fire and Heat coach Ashley Noffke, Redmayne learnt to let go of her naturally conservative instincts, adding a new aggressive element to her game that was reflected in her improved strike rates across both competitions last summer.

"The last WBBL was a real game changer for me, approaching it a different way to how I had previously," Redmayne said.

"The backing Ashley Noffke and the rest of the coaching staff gave me, (they) imparted in me such a self-belief that maybe I hadn't had before. Just go out with a more aggressive mindset and be able to take the bowlers on and not really worry so much about the consequences.

"That enabled me to just free up a lot and discover that I did have a lot more shots than I’d let out the last few seasons.

"It was really good for me to discover my potential in a way … and coming off the back of a pretty good WBBL into the WNCL, I had that confidence.

"I've always favoured the one-day format, so it was nice to bring more of that confidence (and) aggressive mindset from the T20s into probably my preferred format historically." 

Redmayne runs riot against Hurricanes

With her residency complete and now fully registered as a doctor, Redmayne resigned from her hospital job in January.

Now, she plans to combine full-time cricket with locum work, and make the most of the years she has left as an elite athlete.

"It's nice to be in a position at the moment where I can kind of pick and choose where and when I work …  which frees me up a lot more for cricket," she said.

"Medicine will be there forever, but I can probably keep playing cricket at this level for a limited timeframe.

"I just wanted to try to give cricket my best crack that I can in the next couple of years and see where it gets me.

"And when I get some time off in the off-season or any free space opens up, I can pick and choose some locum jobs there while I can, which is really nice.

“It's the most in control I've been of trying to balance the two careers." 

CommBank Series v India

Australia squad: Meg Lanning (c), Rachael Haynes (vc), Darcie Brown, Maitlan Brown, Stella Campbell, Nicola Carey, Hannah Darlington, Ashleigh Gardner, Alyssa Healy, Tahlia McGrath, Sophie Molineux, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Georgia Redmayne, Molly Strano, Annabel Sutherland, Tayla Vlaeminck, Georgia Wareham

India Test and ODI squad: Mithali Raj (c), Harmanpreet Kaur (vc), Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Punam Raut, Jemimah Rodrigues, Deepti Sharma, Sneh Rana, Yastika Bhatia, Taniya Bhatia (wk), Shikha Pandey, Jhulan Goswami, Meghna Singh, Pooja Vastrakar, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Poonam Yadav, Richa Ghosh, Ekta Bisht.

India T20I squad: Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Smriti Mandhana (vc), Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Deepti Sharma, Sneh Rana, Yastika Bhatia, Shikha Pandey, Meghna Singh, Pooja Vastrakar, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Poonam Yadav, Richa Ghosh (wk), Harleen Deol, Arundhati Reddy, Radha Yadav, Renuka Singh.

Sep 21: First ODI, Great Barrier Reef Arena, Mackay

Sep 24: Second ODI, Great Barrier Reef Arena, Mackay (D/N)

Sep 26: Third ODI, Great Barrier Reef Arena, Mackay

Sep 30 – Oct 3: Test match, Metricon Stadium, Gold Coast (D/N)

Oct 7: First T20, Metricon Stadium, Gold Coast

Oct 9: Second T20, Metricon Stadium, Gold Coast

Oct 10: Third T20, Metricon Stadium, Gold Coast