Five years ago, most Australians would probably have nominated Ellyse Perry as their favourite women’s cricketer. As the team has become better known, the focus of interest has widened slightly, and an aspiring wicketkeeper might now prefer Alyssa Healy, while Victorians are often loyal to captain Meg Lanning.
Despite the popularity of the national side, coupled with the rise of the Women’s Big Bash League, a lot of the momentum around the team still depends on those three big names.
But there is a sense a new phase for this dominant team is beginning with a three-T20 and three-ODI series against New Zealand getting under way this weekend. When the trans-Tasman rivals played a series in Brisbane in September last year, Australia took a largely unchanged squad from their World Cup win. This time, some key players that have boarded the plane to New Zealand – and some who have been left behind – suggest the dawn of a new era.
The home T20 World Cup triumph was years in the planning, and a great many resources were thrown into the campaign to fill the MCG for the final. But with so much riding on the profiles of Perry (30), Healy (31) and Lanning (29) succession planning is important, not just on the field, but also in evolving the public face of the team. With four major tournaments – the 50-over World Cup, Commonwealth Games and two T20 World Cups locked in for 2022 and 2023 – the emotional connection with the team needs to be maintained and grown to ensure it is not lost when key players retire.
One player who looks likely to be in the mix to take this on is 19-year-old Hannah Darlington. The Kamilaroi woman, who is in line to become just the third Indigenous woman to represent Australia, has had a meteoric rise over the past two years. In her debut WBBL season in 2019 she won Sydney Thunder’s player of the season award and in 2020 she was named in the team of the tournament. Last month she became the youngest captain in NSW cricket history when she led the Breakers in the WNCL.
That she has been identified as a leader at such a young age is no surprise. Darlington speaks with the confidence and assurance of someone many years her senior, while maintaining humility and gratitude for the opportunities that have come her way. It has been an adjustment to move between roles as a senior player and captain for NSW before stepping back into a junior role for Australia, but Darlington has embraced the challenge.
“It’s nice to feel like a kid again and come back and run around the park full of energy and not have to worry about anything else,” she said. “Just going out there and playing cricket. I’m having an absolute blast just being able to train as hard as I can and put my best foot forward. I’m absolutely loving it.”
On the field, Darlington is a fierce competitor, known for the pinpoint accuracy of her yorkers and her formidable death bowling – skills that she is looking to bring into the Australian set up.
“If a cap does come my way, I’ll definitely be trying to block up the powerful Kiwi batters and look to bowl at the death, which is nothing unfamiliar,” she said. “It’s really nice to have a familiar role.”
The combination of her on-field skill and off-field persona make Darlington a natural successor to the “big three” names that have led this team – on and off the field – for so long. However, she would also represent a significant evolution of the team image.
There is no doubt about the qualities of Perry, Healy and Lanning, but their similarities and position at the forefront of the team do not paint a particularly diverse picture. The catch cry of the rise of women’s sport over the past few years – “if she can’t see it, she can’t be it” – does not just apply to women as a homogenous group, but also highlights the need for women from different backgrounds, with different stories, to have their voices heard and their faces front and centre.
While Darlington is hopeful she will make her debut during the upcoming series, she understands that she has been brought in with an eye to the future of the sport.
“I’m really excited just to watch how they go about preparing for games, to see behind the scenes what they do off the field. I think that’s been the most special part of training with the team is that they’re really training how they want to play.”
Whether or not she is handed the cap during this trip, Darlington’s inclusion is an important step towards an even brighter future for this Australian team – one that is likely to let even more aspiring young girls know that they can find their place in cricket.
