Just over a year ago Danielle Gibson had a big decision to make.

The multi-talented 16-year-old was good enough to be selected for the England Junior Academy at cricket AND age group hockey for England.

Fortunately for fans of women’s cricket, she chose the former and is now on a journey that one day will hopefully see her play for England’s senior cricket team.

And if she does make it to the very top – and at this stage there’s no reason to think that she won’t – then spectators at grounds up and down the country and beyond are in for a treat.

That’s because she’s an all-rounder and, as with so many all-rounders, she likes being centre stage once she’s out in the heat of battle.

“She’s a game-changer,” said her proud dad Mike. “She’s a natural ball striker and just loves to hit it as far as she can. She’s not one to hang around.

“She’s very strong and very powerful. She used to be a bit leg-sided but she’s matured as a batsman and has opened up the off-side much more now.”

Her bowling is just as good.

“She bowls with decent pace,” said Mike. “Her bowling has come on in leaps and bounds. She’s learning all the different variations that you need when you come up against better cricketers.”

So is she a better batter or bowler?

“Bowling is her stronger suit,” said Mike. “In age group county cricket she bats at three and can destroy an attack. She’ll also open the bowling and will beat the bat three or four times. It can be tough because then they get an edge and it runs away for four.

“But as far as the England junior academy are concerned she is a bowling all-rounder.”

Danielle, a pupil at Dean Close, is spending her second winter as part of England’s junior academy. They train regularly at Loughborough and her call-ups are just reward for her excellent performances for Gloucestershire over the past couple of years.

So good have some of those performances been that this year she was named in the Western Storm squad for the T20 Kia Super League (KSL) for the first time, which was some feat for a girl her age.

The KSL is England’s first ever semi-professional women’s tournament and, although Danielle didn’t play in any of the games, she was 12th player on a couple of occasions, and was able to get on the pitch and rub shoulders with some of the biggest names in the sport.

“She learned so much,” said Mike. “She was in the same dressing room as England captain Heather Knight, Anya Shrubsole and West Indies captain Stafanie Taylor. Just being around them was a great experience.”

It certainly was and has served only to whet Danielle’s appetite for more. And her game appears tailor-made for today’s requirements with T20 and 50-over games very much to the fore in the women’s game.

“Playing for England is the goal,” said her dad. “That’s what she wants to do, but it will take a lot of hard work and commitment for her to get there.

“At the highest level it’s fully professional. England have 15 or 16 contracted players and they play cricket all over the world.”

It’s a hugely exciting prospect but whatever she achieves, her dad is already very proud.

“We all are, the whole family,” said Mike. “We’re incredibly proud of what she’s already done and potentially could achieve.

“She’s a naturally very sporty person but she’s modest, too, which is brilliant. She knows she’s good but never says, ‘Look at me’.”

She may not be saying ‘look at me’ but cricket people in the know – Gloucestershire’s selectors among them – have been looking at her almost from the day she first started picking up a bat at Dumbleton at the age of nine.

“She played tennis when she was younger and played to a good level,” said Mike, who lives with his family in Tewkesbury. “But she fell out of love with tennis and jumped at the chance to play cricket because she prefers team sport.”

And she still plays hockey too.

“She’s a centre-forward and scores a lot of goals,” said Mike. “She’s in the 1st XI at Dean Close and also plays for Gloucester City. She really enjoys it.”

Mike, who is a pretty decent sportsman himself – he was good enough to play cricket for Leicestershire 2nds for a couple of years – says it obviously helps that Danielle comes from a sporty family.

Mum Gail plays a lot of tennis and Mike’s two grown up sons – Greg and Jacob – are good at sport too.

So who is the best of them all?

“That’s a good question,” laughed Mike. “I think I have to say Danielle, she’s progressed the most out of all of us.”