Charis Pavely’s mother revealed to close relatives that the England Under-19 World Cup runner-up was seeking an ADHD diagnosis.

In Pavely’s words, it is an attitude that “needs to change.”

It is estimated that 20% of people in the UK are neurodivergent, including the 18-year-old Central Sparks player. Autistics, dyslexics, dyspraxics, and ADHD sufferers have brains that function differently.

Pavely’s ADHD went undetected as a child due to a lack of education and awareness surrounding neurological conditions.

She dropped out of school shortly after completing her GCSEs as a result of feeling persistently misunderstood.

“I had no idea at the time,” she says. “I didn’t understand what was happening because I didn’t know enough about it.

My reports always said the same thing: cannot concentrate, distracts others, chats too much, doesn’t care about school.

When my grades didn’t reflect that, that was the hardest part about school because I cared a lot about what people thought.

Sport was my outlet at school, so I was getting angry and had a pent-up frustration that wouldn’t let go.”

During that time, Pavely took up cricket at a school lunchtime club and quickly rose to the level of regional academy cricket.