Hannah Darlington and the joy of not getting nervous

Hannah Darlington bowled a dream over under excruciating pressure to get her side into the WBBL final. Here’s how she did it.

Sydneh Thunder’s Hannah Darlington, No 25, dismisses Georgia Prestwidge of the Heat during the Women's Big Bash League semi-final

Hannah Darlington’s clutch over against Brisbane Heat on her enchanted Thursday evening at North Sydney Oval was such a blur of pinpoint cross-seam yorkers and dislodged fluoro bails and single fist pumps and double fists pumps and ice-cold stares and a wahoo of delight in there somewhere that it warranted a repeat viewing in the warm springtime light of the following day.

Bless you, Kayo, for allowing us to flash forward to the 18th over of the Heat’s panic-stricken innings at your affordable monthly rate. They were chasing 144. They needed 15 runs from three overs. They had three wickets in hand. They should have done it in a canter. Thunder captain Rachael Haynes threw the pill to the 18-year-old Darlington, their season hanging by a thread. A crackerjack commentator by the name of Trent Copeland, whose love of the nuances and intricacies of this sport have shone through his every word, said: “She’s been great all tournament. In this role. Closing games out … bowling yorkers, slower balls, change-ups. This over is crucial. Going to your in-form, most successful bowler … great call.”

It was the sort of spine-tingling, nerve-shredding scenario a dear old Test match, still the superior form by a good 22 yards, would take four and three-quarter says to reach. What a load of rubbish the BBL innovations are: all the WBBL has needed are two full-strength teams batting for 20 overs each. For the Thunder and Darlington it was all or nothing, death or glory. A tension and opportunity and pressure to make the hair on the back of your neck stand on end. Copeland’s terrific accomplice in commentary, Lisa Sthalekar, said: “I love moments like this. Because I love to see the reactions …”

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By reactions, Sthalekar meant the character of the players. Those who wilted. Those who wanted to hide beneath the Molly Dive Stand. Those who wanted to get involved. The camera zoomed in on Darlington. And, action. Dot balls would be great. Wickets would be greater. The less deliveries that ended up on Miller Street, the better. Darlington was involved in the first WBBL tournament, you know. Aged 12, she was helping move the sight screen at Sydney’s suburban Howell Oval. Long story short: Darlington took 2-1, was on a hat-trick, did a commando roll to prevent a single, said she wasn’t nervous at all, just knew what she had to do … and did it. The joy of that. The Thunder romped home by 12 runs to reach Saturday night’s final against the Melbourne Stars. That was some over. It was such a clutch performance that warranted a replay of the replay.

How they will line up for the WBBL final at North Sydney Oval

Short story long. First delivery: good length, off stump, punched to mid-off. Dot ball. Second delivery: Middle-and-leg stump. Into the pads. Dot ball. Might have got away with one there. Third delivery: perfect yorker, see you later, off stump. Fourth delivery: perfect yorker, see you later, off stump. A wahoo in there somewhere. Fifth delivery: the hat-trick ball was full and outside off. A diving save of a run. Sixth ball: Another full delivery but not too full to be in the slot. A single to long-off. The umpire said, “Over,” and as a contest, that’s what the match was. Dot, dot, wicket, wicket, dot, single left Darlington, who had earlier grabbed the crucial scalp of Heat captain Jess Jonassen, with 3-19 from three overs and the player of the match award. “Wow,” she said, and she wasn’t alone there. “There wasn’t much going through my mind. I just knew what I needed to do. It’s nice that I don’t get nervous in those situations. I guess that’s why I play cricket.” Jonassen saluted Darlington for bowling “exceptionally well in a clutch time in the innings.”

Meg Lanning’s aptly named Stars are huge favourites for the final but you never know your luck in a big city’s picturesque boutique ground. The Thunder are coming off the sort of miracle victory that makes a squad believe their luck just might be in. Down among the dead women against the Heat, they took 6-12 from 19 deliveries in a comeback that seemed impossible until it happened. Their post-match hugs and hoots and high-fives were suitably ecstatic.

Darlington said: “The key thing is for every player in our squad to just prepare how we would for any other game. It’s no different to any other game. If you make a big hype about it, you’ll psych yourself out. It’s pretty exciting. I think a lot of people probably wrote us off at the beginning of the season. To have this young group go out there and perform in a final is going to be really special. We’ve got some of the best cricketers in the country going around. It’s going to be a fun match-up against the Stars. We’ve got one day to chill and prepare. To get done what we need to get done before the big dance on Saturday.”