The West Australian parents who staged a unique photoshoot to announce the arrival of their new baby daughter this week say they are amazed the images have gone viral online.
Cricket fanatic Brody Price and his wife Sarah welcomed their second daughter Hadley into the world on Tuesday night at Kalgoorlie Health Campus.
The day after her birth, a photographer captured Mr Price in his cricket whites and local club shirt ready to catch the newborn with his wicket-keeping gloves — and a helmet presumably just in case.
"I love my cricket, always have, I've been playing since I was about 13," Mr Price told the ABC.
"I had this idea a few months ago and thought it would be funny.
"She thinks I'm a bit of an idiot, but she's used to me by now.
"She was in and out of hospital in under 24 hours so we managed to sneak the photos in."
Even baby Hadley's name has cricketing connotations. While spelt differently, New Zealand fans will immediately think of the Kiwis' greatest cricketer Sir Richard Hadlee.
"I didn't really expect it to do that [go viral]," Mr Price said.
"My cricket teammates think it's hilarious."
While admitting she would rather watch grass grow than cricket, Mrs Price described her husband as a sports nut.
"Yeah, he loves his sport… the second we knew we were pregnant he was planning out what sports they're going to play," she said.
She laughed off comments on social media from people who mistakenly believed the photographs were taken during labour.
"That's definitely not during delivery – I was acting," she said.
She explained that her husband brought his cricket kit into the maternity ward in a bag and got changed in the room.
"The family was chomping at the bit for us to get the photos and the announcement out that she [Hadley] was here so they could talk about it.
"And they're just as surprised as us that it's gone a bit crazy on the internet."
And, still just three days old, how is little Hadley?
"Settling in nicely," mum said.
As for dad, he hopes both his daughters are sports mad like him. He is even trying to convince the couple's other daughter Iylah to barrack for his beloved Collingwood in the AFL.
"I hope both of them [Hadley and Iylah] are into cricket and footy," he said.
"That's my plan."
'Wackiest photo shoot'
The photographer Renae Fox, from Lil Impressions, said she was surprised to get the call
"I'm not a cricket person myself but most men in Australia love cricket and probably wish they could do it too.
"I got a call from Brody with this amazing idea that he had and I said, 'Of course I’m more than happy to just as long as it’s a safe environment'."
