Ohhh, Darcie Brown! Teenage tearaway ignites WBBL

Teenager Darcie Brown is bowling superbly in the WBBL – and she’s not far from the fastest ball ever bowled in women’s cricket.

Darcie Brown celebrates with her Strikers teammates after dismissing Jess Jonassen at North Sydney Oval on Saturday Picture: Getty Images

A screaming yorker from a teenage tearaway speared beneath the slowly descending Gray Nic of Jess Jonassen. It tickled her toes and nearly crushed her right sand shoe before rocketing into the woodwork. Next ball, with the bowler’s tail up, and with the world speed record in sight, she produced another rip snorter as the Adelaide Strikers wicketkeeper Tegan McPharlin, always up for a chat and a bit of running commentary, shouted with enthusiasm and affection: “Ohhh, Darcie Brown!”

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It sounded like a line from a comic strip or a young adults novel for young girls. Oh, Darcie Brown, you’ve done it again! Her spell for the Strikers in Saturday’s 18-run WBBL victory over the Brisbane Heat caught this observer’s eye, not the least because she was bowling almost as fast as any woman ever has.

I’d never heard of the 17-year-old, let alone seen her operate at near-world record speed, but those two deliveries and her 1-17 from four overs were enough to stop one in one’s tracks … and be sure to get in front of a screen for Sunday’s clash between the Strikers and Melbourne Renegades.

Ohhh, Darcie Brown! Seventeen years of age. She grew up at Kapunda, near the Barossa Valley in South Australia. She needs glasses in day-to-day life but has started wearing contacts when she’s off her long run. She’s been studying for her final Year 12 exams in the WBBL village/bubble at Homebush. Her 124.4km/h on Saturday was nudging the women’s world speed record of 128km/h by South African Shabnim Ismail’s. Brown was clocked at 116km/h last year, when she was fast-tracked into the South Australia squad as a 16-year-old. The dial is rising. Her teammate Katie Mack said: “It’s pretty simple with Darce. Run in and bowl fast. She’s happy-go-lucky. She just runs in and bowls a mean ball.”

Ohhh, Darcie Brown! We settled in for a proper viewing on Sunday. Few things get the blood pumping like the emergence of a raw young speedster. She had a job to do after the Strikers posted only 127 from their 20 overs. She hit 121km/h, ten clocks quicker than swing merchant Schutt. She gave everyone the hurry-up. Her run-up’s controlled, square and tall. She lets rip at the right moment, the very last moment. It’s a wonderful technique. Wonderful. She pushed back the leg stump of Amy Satterthwaite in four overs of genuinely good stuff that netted 1-12 in the Strikers’s six-run triumph. Fox Cricket commentator Lisa Sthaleker said, “Excellent line. Excellent length. And the pace. It’s the pace that is hurrying these batters up.” McPharlin again found the right words, shouting what plenty of us were thinking, “Yes, Darcie Brown! I like it, Darcie Brown!”

Ohhh, this is a cracking tournament. It boasts what the BBL cannot. Superstars versus superstars. Australian players against Australian players. The Sydney Sixers were unbeaten until Sunday proved that if cricket is a funny old game, T20 is positively hilarious for unpredictability. Sixers’ all-rounder Ash Gardner took 2-24 from her four overs on Saturday but a day later, she conceded 24 runs from her first over in a resounding defeat to the Perth Scorchers. New Zealand star Sophie Devine finally hit her straps and the pickets, belting 103 from 68 deliveries to hand the Sixers their first loss by 36 runs.

Australia captain Meg Lanning has performed with aplomb for the ladder-leading Melbourne Stars, peeling off 50s like she’s shelling peas. The Scorchers admitted they wanted to bat second against the Stars on Saturday night solely because Lanning preferred to chase. Decisions at the toss rarely if ever revolve around the wishes of one opposition player, but Lanning’s mastery of chases looms large. She promptly won the toss, chose to bat second and made an unbeaten 51 to get the job done. She whipped up a quick 54 on Sunday for the 23-run win over the Brisbane Heat that sent the stars atop the ladder. At the other end of the experience spectrum, rookie leg spinner Amy Smith took a combined 4-25 from her six overs on the weekend for the Hobart Hurricanes. She’s 15 years of age … probably 20 years away from the peak of her slow-bowling powers.