On the surface, everything looked right. Linsey Smith had reached the international game as a 23-year-old in 2018. Her numbers were excellent, a bowling average of 14 from her first nine England matches, and she was touring the world, winning games of cricket for her country.

Internally, though, she doubted her ability. Thoughts turned from how to dismiss the batter at the other end to, “S--- where is this going to go?” as she was running in to bowl.

“I was embarrassed to wear an England shirt,” Smith says now. “I was not enjoying the experience. Playing for England is meant to be the best thing on earth, whereas I was in a pretty dark place. If something did not feel 100 per cent right, it would derail me. The feelings I would get on the morning of the game were not healthy.”

Reflecting now on her rise to the top of her sport, she says it was too much too soon. Rock bottom came during an England Academy series against Australia A in the summer of 2019. “I just thought, ‘I do not know if I want to be on the cricket pitch’. It’s not great looking back but that’s the reality of where my headspace was.

“It was about 50-50 whether I should take a step back and give myself some time away from the game, or actually just get around good mates and go back to square one and try to enjoy what I’m doing again.”

She opted for the latter but, for a while, she distanced herself from the England set-up completely. She would not check the scores, follow it or want to hear about it. When she did start enjoying the game again, however, the goal shifted to enjoying and achieving. England ceased to be a source of intimidation and instead became a source of inspiration.

“The dream was to get back in an England shirt and be able to say, ‘I have had a good game’,” she says.

It is a statement that speaks to the cruel, and often irrational, mental side of cricket. Look through the scorecards of Smith’s first spell for England and you can see that at a time when she was “embarrassed” by her performances, she was delivering results.

That summer of 2019 saw her take two for 22 against West Indies. A spell that included the wicket of Hayley Matthews, one of the best players in the world.

But the brain does not work like that. And it was only through support from friends and a series of excellent performances in domestic cricket that Smith rediscovered the love and learnt to “embrace the competitiveness”.

That change in approach ultimately earned her an England recall in February, after five years out of the international game.

The clash of the Women’s Premier League in India and England’s tour of New Zealand meant a handful of players missed the first part of the series and opened the door for her to return to the set-up. It was a call she describes as a “complete shock”, but one that confirmed the international stage is where she wanted to be.

After being on the outside for five years, Smith soon found herself in England’s plans for the T20 World Cup. Jon Lewis, the head coach, regularly mentioned the fact that Smith’s powerplay numbers were among the best in the country, with her low-arm and slingy style of bowling making her a unique threat.

England rolled out their masterplan for the first time against New Zealand in July, with Smith picked as one of four specialist spinners alongside the traditional trio of Sophie Ecclestone, Sarah Glenn and Charlie Dean. They did the same for the opening match of the World Cup against Bangladesh, and Smith took two for 11 to spearhead the win.

“It felt really special,” Smith says. “The girls got around me, which was really nice, and my mum and dad are out here as well. Walking off, it was a real sense of pride that I’ve actually contributed and we’ve won a game at the World Cup.”

She took another wicket in the win over South Africa and while she did not play against Scotland as England experimented more with seam than spin, she is certainly proving an integral part of the squad that faces West Indies on Tuesday in their decisive final group game.

Now Smith’s dream is surely not just to have a good game but a good tournament.