Hannah Darlington

Hannah Joy Darlington (born 25 January 2002) is an Australian cricketer who made her debut for the national women's team in September 2021. A right-arm medium-pace bowler, Darlington is the current captain of the Sydney Thunder in the Women's Big Bash League (WBBL) and vice-captain of the New South Wales Breakers in the Women's National Cricket League (WNCL).[1][2] In 2021, she won the Betty Wilson Young Cricketer of the Year award.[3]

Hannah Darlington
Personal information
Full name
Hannah Joy Darlington
Born (2002-01-25) 25 January 2002
Sydney, New South Wales
BattingRight-handed
BowlingRight-arm medium
RoleAll-rounder
International information
National side
ODI debut (cap 145)21 September 2021 v India
Last ODI24 September 2021 v India
T20I debut (cap 55)7 October 2021 v India
Last T20I9 October 2021 v India
Domestic team information
YearsTeam
2017–presentSydney Thunder
2019–20Otago
2019–presentNew South Wales
Career statistics
Competition WLA WT20
Matches 9 38
Runs scored 18 198
Batting average 3.60 11.00
100s/50s 0/0 0/0
Top score 8 30
Balls bowled 424 794
Wickets 7 48
Bowling average 47.85 17.35
5 wickets in innings 0 0
10 wickets in match 0 0
Best bowling 2/29 3/12
Catches/stumpings 2/– 12/–
Source: ESPNcricinfo, 9 October 2021

Early life and education

Hailing from Erskine Park in Western Sydney, Darlington has Indigenous heritage and identifies as a member of the Kamilaroi people.[4] While in primary school, she accidentally hit a teacher in the head with a ball and was given a choice of attending detention or joining the cricket team, prompting her formal introduction to the sport.[5] She completed her HSC at Westfields Sports High School.[6][7]

Domestic career

Women's Big Bash League

At 15 years of age, Darlington signed with the Sydney Thunder ahead of the 2017–18 Women's Big Bash League season.[8] In 2018, she was selected as the captain for the Thunder's first female Indigenous XI.[9][10]

Darlington earned her WBBL debut in the opening match of the 2019–20 season on the same day of her Year 12 English exam.[4] She made her first major impression on the league in her third appearance by taking a difficult match-winning catch on the last ball of a three-run victory against the Melbourne Renegades at Blacktown ISP Oval. Primarily contributing to the team through her medium-pace bowling, Darlington claimed 16 wickets during the tournament at an economy rate of 6.82, leading to her winning the WBBL|05 Young Gun Award and being named the Thunder's Player of the Season.[11][12]

After overcoming a lower-leg injury early in the 2020–21 season, Darlington affirmed her status as "one of the best death bowlers"[13] in the league—on 8 November at Hurstville Oval, for example, she restricted the Hobart Hurricanes to nine runs off the final over of the match to help secure a one-run victory.[14] The "level-headed"[15] teenager then delivered her first Player of the Match performance in a "chaotic"[16] semi-final against the Brisbane Heat, claiming figures of 3/19 and sparking a memorable comeback victory. The Thunder would go on to defeat the Melbourne Stars in the final, and Darlington was named in the WBBL|06 Team of the Tournament.[17]

Women's Super Smash

Having missed out on a WNCL contract for the 2019–20 season, Darlington opted to spend much of the summer overseas playing for the Otago Sparks in New Zealand's domestic T20 competition, the Women's Super Smash.[18] She took 13 wickets at an economy rate of 5.75 throughout the tournament while her team finished in third place, losing to the Auckland Hearts in an elimination final.[19][20]

Women's National Cricket League

Darlington made her debut for the New South Wales Breakers during the 2019–20 Women's National Cricket League season, taking 2/29 from ten overs in a one-wicket victory against Tasmania.[21][22] On 26 February 2021, at 19 years and 31 days, she became the youngest-ever captain in New South Wales' 165-year history of senior cricket teams, standing in for regular Breakers captain Alyssa Healy in a WNCL match against Tasmania which ended in a tie.[23]

International career

Darlington was selected for an Indigenous team which toured the United Kingdom in 2018 as a celebration of the 150th anniversary of the 1868 Aboriginal tour of England.[24] In March 2019, she toured New Zealand as a member of the Australian Under-19 squad, though the trip ended prematurely due to the Christchurch terror attack.[18]

Darlington was named in Australia's limited overs squad for their tour of New Zealand in March 2021,[25][26] but was not selected in the playing XI during the six-match schedule. She was then named in Australia's squad for a multi-format series against India later in the year.[27] During the series, Darlington made her Women's One Day International (WODI) debut on 21 September 2021,[28] as well as her Women's Twenty20 International (WT20I) debut on 7 October 2021.[29]

In January 2022, Darlington was named in Australia's squad for their series against England to contest the Women's Ashes.[30] Later the same month, she was named as a reserve in Australia's team for the 2022 Women's Cricket World Cup in New Zealand.[31] However, she subsequently withdrew from the squad to take a break from cricket, and was replaced by Heather Graham.[32][33]

References
  1. "Teenage Darlington becomes youngest WBBL captain". cricket.com.au. Retrieved 11 November 2021.
  2. "Young gun named Breakers VC in first season". cricket.com.au. Retrieved 11 November 2021.
  3. "Darlington eyes the one-day game as her next evolution". cricket.com.au. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
  4. "'That is pretty incredible for a 17-year-old'". cricket.com.au. Retrieved 14 November 2019.
  5. Seconi, Adrian (10 January 2020). "Lesson learned at school". Otago Daily Times Online News. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
  6. "Thunder partners with Westfields Sports High School". Sydney Thunder. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
  7. "Darlington bowled over by change in her game". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
  8. "Darlington Becomes The First Graduate Of The Thunder WBBL Academy". Sydney Thunder. Archived from the original on 15 January 2018. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
  9. "Teenage star to captain first female Indigenous XI for Thunder". Cricket NSW. Retrieved 14 November 2019.
  10. Osborne, Kayla (19 September 2019). "Hannah Darlington re-signs with Sydney Thunder". Fairfield City Champion. Retrieved 14 November 2019.
  11. "Darlington named WBBL|05 Young Gun". cricket.com.au. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
  12. "Darlington wins Alex Blackwell Medal". Sydney Thunder. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
  13. "From Thunder Academy to Australian squad". Sydney Thunder. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
  14. Keoghan, Sarah (8 November 2020). "Devine intervention sees Sixers handed first loss, Thunder topple Hurricanes". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
  15. "The secret to Darlington's success in WBBL|06". cricket.com.au. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
  16. "'Crazy': Cricket champs suffer horror collapse". NewsComAu. 26 November 2020. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
  17. "Devine takes top individual gong in WBBL awards". cricket.com.au. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
  18. "Darlington determined to seize latest opportunity". cricket.com.au. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
  19. "New Zealand Cricket Women's Twenty20, 2019/20 Cricket Team Records & Stats | ESPNcricinfo.com". Cricinfo. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
  20. "Full Scorecard of Otago Women vs AK Women Preliminary Final 2019/20 - Score Report | ESPNcricinfo.com". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
  21. "Darlington set to make NSW debut". Sydney Thunder. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
  22. "Full Scorecard of Tas Women vs NSW Women 22nd Match 2019/20 - Score Report | ESPNcricinfo.com". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
  23. AAP (27 February 2021). "Youngest ever NSW captain trusted with Breakers legacy". Cricket.com.au. Cricket Australia. Retrieved 27 February 2021.
  24. "Hannah Darlington: on cricket in the UK and playing for the Sydney Thunder". Indigenous.gov.au. 10 December 2018. Retrieved 14 November 2019.
  25. "Teenage quicks bolt into Aussie squad for NZ tour". Cricket Australia. Retrieved 23 February 2021.
  26. "Hannah Darlington: 'Every day I'm pinching myself that this is happening'". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 24 February 2021.
  27. "Stars ruled out, bolters named in squad to play India". Cricket Australia. Retrieved 18 August 2021.
  28. "1st ODI, Mackay, Sep 21 2021, India Women tour of Australia". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 21 September 2021.
  29. "1st T20I (N), Carrara, Oct 7 2021, India Women tour of Australia". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 7 October 2021.
  30. "Alana King beats Amanda-Jade Wellington to place in Australia's Ashes squad". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
  31. "Wellington, Harris return in Australia's World Cup squad". Cricket Australia. Retrieved 26 January 2022.
  32. "Hannah Darlington withdraws from Australia's World Cup squad". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 8 February 2022.
  33. Jolly, Laura (5 July 2022). "Darlington opens up on decision to skip the World Cup". Cricket.com.au. Retrieved 5 July 2022.
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