Hannah Darlington sat English HSC Shakespeare test just hours before WBBL debut with Sydney Thunder
Hannah Darlington tried hard to analyse King Edward IV in her HSC English test, but the thought of bowling to her idols Alyssa Healy and Ellyse Perry that same night was somewhat distracting.
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Hours before her WBBL debut, Hannah Darlington sat her Higher School Certificate English exam.
The 18-year-old Westfield Sports High School student managed to scribble down two essays and an original short story before time was up.
Darlington tried hard to analyse Shakespeare’s King Edward IV, but the thought of bowling to her idols Alyssa Healy and Ellyse Perry that same night was somewhat distracting.
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“I found out I was playing the night before the exam, it was so hard to study and to not think about cricket,” Darlington said.
“I thought that maybe I’d have a sore hand from all the writing, but luckily I had too much adrenaline for that to happen.”
Having been a member of the Sydney Thunder squad since 2017, Darlington has grown used to balancing elite cricket with high school.
Playing in front of cameras and big crowds, however, was a completely alien experience for the teenager.
“I’d waited a long time, I sat off for two years running drinks, so for the day to finally come was really special,” Darlington said.
“It’s quite weird seeing yourself on TV … and people cheer you for every catch and every ball, it’s pretty surreal.”
Darlington has now settled into Thunder’s starting side, has taken five wickets this season, and was especially deadly with the ball against the Melbourne Renegades last week (2-19).
But, it’s not just her strong form that’s turning heads. The proud Kamilaroi woman has a unique Indigenous sticker on her bat.
“I’m a proud Indigenous woman and having my family up north of Tamworth is really important to me,” Darlington said.
“So I asked my sponsor if we could get some Indigenous stickers made, he said yes, and my really good mate Glen Liddiard is an artist, so it all worked out perfectly.”
The teenager said she was inspired by Indigenous Australian cricketer Ash Gardner and hopes that her sticker will encourage more children to play cricket.
“Ash Garnder is great at it and I’ve tried to follow in her footsteps,” she said.
“If I have those stickers out there, and kids see that, it’ll provide some motivation and boost for kids wanting to pursue cricket.
Darlington hopes to see the WBBL introduce a competition-wide Indigenous round in the future.
“The last two years we’ve been happy the Strikers and the Scorchers get an Indigenous round and get to go up to Alice Springs,” she said.
“But for each team to have an Indigenous round or game, it’d be amazing, there’s definitely enough players to get out there and promote it, so hopefully it does come.”