Hannah Darlington bowled over by cricket success after change
The thing Hannah Darlington did to turn herself from a good cricketer into one of the hottest prospects in the game.
Penrith
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If anyone had told Hannah Darlington last year what she would be doing for the last five months she would have said they were mad.
Not even in her wildest dreams could she have imagined she would be playing in front of screaming crowds, writing her autograph on the back of shirts and just generally establishing herself as one of the hottest young talents in the game.
And it has all come about because of a decision she made two years ago.
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“I grew up as a batter and now have changing focus to bowling so it’s nice to see the hard work paying off,” said Darlington, studying marine science at Macquarie University.
“I always bowled but it was never a skill set I focused on. When I got on the (Sydney Thunder) list and didn’t get a game as a batter I saw it as an opportunity to work on my bowling.
“I realised if I wanted to make it in the sport I needed to add a string to my bow.”
Her whirlwind season has included making her WBBL debut with the Sydney Thunder and more recently her NSW Breakers debut in the women’s national cricket league.
“That was special,” said Darlington of her February debut for NSW against Tasmania.
“We got to field first and I got to bowl and picked up two wickets and then we won by a run,” said Darlington, who graduated from Westfield Sports High at Fairfield last year.
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Darlington, who lives in Erskine Park and plays for the Campbelltown Camden Ghosts, said 2019/20 had been a “breakout” season for her.
“If anyone had told me at the start this is what it would be like I wouldn’t have believed them,” she said.
“The Big Bash debut definitely wasn’t expected, to be the leading wicket taker, playing every game. I definitely didn’t expect that.”
Most recently Darlington was part of the Breakers side which lost the WNBL final against Western Australia by 42 runs.
The Breakers hosted the final after finishing top of the table with six wins from eight matches.
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