Tammy Beaumont will play her 12th Test match this week at Lord's. For most of us, freshers' week at university takes at least another week on top of that - or two - to recover from. But Tammy Beaumont had little time to dwell on a hazy blur of tiredness or the overwhelming excitement at new-found freedom, as she went straight from Loughborough to her England debut in the Caribbean.

Beaumont, now 35 and having just announced her retirement from international cricket after this week's Test against India, refers to her debut as a whirlwind. It is also a fitting word to describe a career that has seen her bat in every position from one to 11, become a World Cup winner, an Ashes double-centurion and now bowing out in the historic occasion of a first women's Test at Lord's from Friday.

"It's been an emotional week since I made the final decision," Beaumont told BBC Sport. "At the end of the 50-over World Cup last year, there were a few doubts. I didn't necessarily have the lightbulb moment when I knew.

"But I had a few conversations with Lottie [head coach Charlotte Edwards] over the past few months about where the team was going and I didn't really see myself in that, so I made the decision about a week ago, to definitely go for it."

It has also been a career of resilience, though Beaumont jokingly refers to her dad's speech at her wedding in which he used that word in inverted commas to mean "stubborn" instead. After a fluctuating start in the international game, it was in 2016 when then-coach Mark Robinson promoted her to open and she never looked back.

A year later, she was player of the tournament and leading run-scorer during England's 50-over World Cup win at home soil. From there, she was one of the first names on the teamsheet with her consistency at the top of the order but another turning point came in 2022 when she was left out of the T20 side and missed a home Commonwealth Games as a result.

Earlier this summer, though, when Edwards left Beaumont out of the one-day international squad against New Zealand, there was a difference. The stubbornness was not kicking in. And last week, when men's Test captain Ben Stokes announced his retirement, Beaumont found herself drawing comparisons.

"I think that was the first time that I had been left out of a squad and not had that fire to go again, to prove people wrong one more time, and force my way back in," Beaumont said. "When I heard Ben Stokes talking about 'going back to the well', I don't think I've ever connected with someone else more.

"I've said many times that you get knocked down seven times and get up eight. But that moment was a bit of a wake-up call - the moment where I thought I couldn't keep doing it and didn't want to."

Beaumont has always been outspoken and honest as a cricketer, whether that is about her own highs and lows or the issues facing the women's game, and even when discussing her retirement has continued to rally for more Test matches going forward.

Lord's is fresh from hosting more than 28,000 people for the Women's T20 World Cup final on Sunday, when Nat Sciver-Brunt's England lost to Australia and another healthy crowd is expected this week, but the timing of the match is peculiar and tricky to attach relevance to.

"People always ask me what's my favourite format and I could never say Test cricket, even though it hands down would be if we had the opportunity to play it enough," Beaumont added. "This will be my 12th Test in 17 years so you're always feeling like you're playing catch-up.

"In the men's game, you still have players being defined as great by their Test records and I think for me, the women's game has lagged behind in that. Most of us want to play Test cricket but not in a tokenistic kind of way, in a way that we can really sink our teeth into it and try to master it. We're all professional sportspeople at the end of the day, we want to be great at what we do, and playing one Test every two years kind of puts a halt to that."

But it is when discussing her team-mates when Beaumont becomes the most emotional, fighting to hold back tears. Alongside the likes of Sciver-Brunt, Danni Wyatt-Hodge, Amy Jones and Heather Knight, it feels like a core group who have grown up together. The first central contracts, a World Cup win and a couple of defeats, weddings, babies - now on to retirements.

As Beaumont says, it is simply the next chapter, although she has not quite mapped out how that will look yet, other than knowing she will continue playing domestically. Once the media duties are done, it is straight back to the nets and Beaumont asks where she is supposed to be.

"Short-leg practice," is the answer. Stood at close range to the batter, right in the firing line, one of the most challenging jobs in Test cricket - and yet she seems genuinely excited by it. It sums up Tammy Beaumont perfectly.

10-13 July, 11:00 BST Ball-by-ball commentary on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra, BBC Sounds and the BBC Sport website and app. Live text updates and in-play video clips on website and app. Daily highlights on BBC Four and iPlayer from 19:00 BST. Australia give improved England plenty to ponder one year out from Ashes. England have won back fans during World Cup - Edwards.