"My friends would say I'm very laid back, chilled out and always seem to be laughing at something," the England opener tells Sky Sports.

"It doesn't come to the forefront of my mind that I'm a role model for others when I'm playing. It's not until you sit back and reflect that you realise what you have achieved. It's hard to see that in the moment of things."

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From making her senior debut aged 14 for Middlesex, to becoming only the second Black woman to play cricket for England after Ebony Rainford-Brent and then the first Black woman to play Test cricket for England, Dunkley has become a trailblazer in her sport, albeit one she has partially, in the nicest sense, been oblivious to.

"I was so excited to play for England. Buzzing to make my debut and fulfil my life-long dream that when I made my Test debut and was told I was the first Black woman to play Test cricket for England and someone interviewed me after the game, I literally had no idea," Dunkley says matter-of-factly.

Dunkley was 22-years-old when she won her first Test cap for England against India in Bristol in June 2021, scoring an unbeaten 74 from six in the order - the highest score by an England women's Test debutant for nearly 35 years. Three years earlier, she had made her white-ball debut at the T20 World Cup in West Indies against Bangladesh.

"It didn't overwhelm me but I didn't realise how much it meant," Dunkley says contemplating on making history.

"Looking back on it and reflecting on it now, it's a cool achievement. It's nice to know that it has inspired people because I get told a lot that it means a lot to other people and it has opened my eyes, as I didn't realise that at the time. It's one of those things that you sit back, reflect and allow it to sink in how important it is and what it means."

Dunkley's sporting path might have taken a different route were it not for a childhood friend who provided the all-rounder, who is currently in New Zealand preparing for England's white-ball series this month, with her first steps into cricket.

Moving to a cul-de-sac in north London as a five-year-old saw Dunkley become close friends with the boy living next door, Zak Carr, and they would spend hours playing different sports in the street.

"Zak was a year older than me and we used to go out and play in the road and spend hours out there hitting tennis balls, bowling and that was my first introduction into cricket," she said.

"My family wasn't particularly sporty and didn't know anything about cricket whatsoever. I enjoyed playing with Zak and one day he asked me if I wanted to join his cricket club so I went along with him and that opened the door."

By being the only girl in the boys' team, Dunkley admitted she initially felt nervous at "standing out" but her overriding feeling was one of inclusion and acceptance. It was only going up against opposition who would make more of a fuss about Dunkley being the only girl that made her more self conscious.

Dunkley remains friends with Zak to this day despite having moved away from that street where her cricketing story began. He was able to attend The Oval last summer when Dunkley was playing for Welsh Fire in the Hundred competition and their families remain in touch.

It leads to the question whether she would have found her own way into cricket without Zak?

"I was lucky at school that I had the opportunity to play a lot of sports so naturally I would've ended up in the sporting world but I have no idea if that would've been cricket or not. Especially the time that I got into it, girls didn't play a lot of cricket."

Dunkley, who made more history by representing England at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham as women's cricket made its first appearance, has always found cricket to be an inclusive sport, yet knows that is not the experience for all.

The Yorkshire Cricket Club racism scandal has laid bare the ongoing problems the sport has encountered and continues to battle. While a landmark report last summer revealed how the sport suffers from 'widespread and deep-rooted' racism, sexism, elitism and class-based discrimination at all levels of the game.

"My journey in cricket has been pretty smooth and I've been surrounded by a lot of people and team-mates who have made me feel accepted, a really big part of the team and I haven't had to face any challenges around that which has been great," Dunkley said.

"It's been positive and nice to know that I can hopefully impact people who may not have had the same journey as me, or who have struggled with fitting in."

Dunkley is helping to break down barriers to entry by being an ambassador for the African Caribbean Engagement Programme (ACE) launched by Rainford-Brent in 2020 to address the lack of Black players in cricket.

Last year, the programme published its own report on the progress made so far, highlighting how nearly 10,000 children have engaged in the sport across 45 schools with 78 per cent of schools becoming involved in the sport for the first time. At academy level, the programme has created 141 scholars with 44 players involved in county age-group cricket.

"I've known Ebony for quite a few years now by playing for Surrey Stars," Dunkley said. "And she asked if I'd help by being an ambassador. She said from the start that the main thing she wanted me to do was to just play cricket and be a role model. She said she didn't want anything weighing on my shoulders, but just to go and play cricket to inspire the girls and boys. It's a nice thing to be part of.

"It's good to see how well it's doing and the impact it's making in a short space of time and I'm sure there's some big things to come in the future."

In the build-up to International Women's Day on Friday, Dunkley is also aware of the need to keep girls engaged in sport and ensure they do not lose interest in their teenage years.

"I did feel a little bit of an outsider [growing up] and a bit different because I played cricket with the boys at school and then I found a girls club, Finchley Cricket Club, and I got into this new world of girls cricket where a lot of girls had the same mindset and everything.

"I would say to those girls [thinking of dropping out of sport] 'you're not alone. There's definitely lots of girls out there with the same mindset, who love playing cricket, love a team environment, it's just about finding them'.

"I think now there are so many different clubs out there, there's more of a network for girls cricket and it's grown so much in a short space of time. There are definitely clubs out there for you.

"When I was younger, it wasn't a career option, now hopefully the girls coming through can see they can make a living out of it and hopefully have the best job in the world one day."

Anthony Joshua's heavyweight showdown with Francis Ngannou takes place on Friday March 8, live on Sky Sports Box Office with the main event expected around 11pm. Book Joshua vs Ngannou now!

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