Former coaches share their delight after Georgia Voll makes her mark for Australia

As Georgia Voll put the international cricket scene on notice with a century in just her second game for Australia, there were few prouder figures than her former Ipswich Hornets coach Justin Anderson. He reveals the pride he felt as he saw her star against India.

Filling in for Australian cricket legend Alyssa Healy in your debut series for the Australian national team would be one of the most daunting prospects for most young cricketers.

Toowoomba’s Georgia Voll however is not your average cricketer.

The 21-year-old was unfazed by the task at hand as she set world cricket alight - first by scoring an unbeaten 46 on debut, before dominating in her second game with a stellar 101 off 87 balls.

Her journey to representing Australia began with humble beginnings at Highfields and Districts Railway Cricket Club before asserting herself as a future prospect while attending Fairholme College and playing for the Ipswich/Logan Hornets in the Brisbane grade cricket scene.

There were few prouder figures than Justin Anderson watching on as he saw his former prodigy make her mark on the international scene.

Anderson coached Voll in her first two seasons of second grade cricket with the Hornets and was overjoyed to see her continue to go from strength to strength.

“I went and watched her first game and then I obviously got to talk to her after the game, we had a moment with her,” he said.

Justin Anderson with Georgia Voll

“Then I sat here watching the hundred in the lounge room … I was pretty chuffed, I had a little tear in my eye so it was a very special moment that’s for sure.

“I tell her every time I see her, she is one of the main reasons why I keep coaching now.

“To actually see her have that success is just a nice thing to know that you’ve had hopefully a little bit to do with what she’s doing.

“And I just take that into my coaching now and anything else that I do - it’s pretty special.”

Anderson said he knew Voll had sky-high potential from the moment he started coaching her.

“I did a lot of one-on-one stuff with her and you could just tell by the way which she approached her training sessions,” he said.

“We used to do throw downs with the girls, she always wanted it faster, she always wanted it harder.

“She just kept stepping up a level and she pushed herself from an early age.

“She just had that natural strength which you can see in her power game.”

Justin Anderson with Georgia Voll at the Ipswich Hornets.

Voll finished her second innings with 101 runs from just 87 balls at a strike rate of 116.09 as she hit 12 boundaries in an impressive display from the young gun.

This aggressive performance came as no surprise to Anderson, who had seen this countless times during his tenure as Hornets coach.

“The way she took the game on from early in her innings (was what stood out most during her time at Ipswich), she always used to bat very aggressively,” he said.

“I started coaching them in the second grade with Ipswich Hornets, we had two years of second grade down there when we won two premierships in two years.

“Obviously we were allowed to go into first grade and she didn’t change, she just stepped up a level when she went into first grade.

Ipswich/Logan Hornets Women celebrate the 2017/18 Jodie Fields Shield premiership.

“She batted the same way and tried to dominate the bowlers and you can see how that went into the international game.”

However, Voll was not alone in making her mark for Ipswich during that period, with several up and coming stars also featuring in that side.

“We had a real patch there where we had quite a few girls, Georgia, Kira Holmes, Ellie Johnston and Ruth Johnston, they were all very special players and all very talented in their own right,” Anderson said.

“Imogen Fisk-Walsh, Emma Jackson - she’s playing Queensland Country, there’s a lot of girls that were in that team that have gone on to bigger things so that’s pretty awesome.

“We had the depth there that if one (player) failed, the other one picked up the slack.

Georgia Voll and Justin Anderson at the Ipswich Hornets. Picture: Darren J McCabe Photography.

“We showed that with our performances, we went into the second grade where a lot of the average scores of teams were quite low, quite mediocre, around the mid 140s, 150s.

“We turned up and started batting and scored 280 and 300 runs so the girls changed the whole way Brisbane grade cricket was played.”

Multi-sport star

Voll brought up her ton batting alongside famous dual-sports superstar Ellyse Perry - who has represented Australia for cricket and football.

And as one of her former mentors recalls, Voll - like Perry - was an elite talent in multiple sports.

“She had a fantastic skill set and could have made teams, for rugby league, rugby union, athletics, Aussie rules, she just had great hand-eye coordination,” Fairholme College head of sport and activities Tony Tregaskis said.

“I think a lot of girls looked to her and went ‘Wow, how can she bowl like that? How can she bat like that?’

“When she played things like rugby union, the same thing, it was that steely talent that she had and in athletics as a thrower.

“She’s not one dimensional in cricket, she could have probably gone anywhere, we had her playing Aussie rules here at one stage as well.

“And I could see her playing professional AFL as well, rugby league even, she was a very talented girl.”

However, in terms of her cricketing prowess, there was one moment in particular which stood out for Tregaskis during Voll’s time at the college.

Finals of Queensland Cricket Secondary Schools T20 Challenge at Riverway Stadium. Fairholme's Georgia Voll

“I took her away with the T20 Street Smart cricket back in 2019 where we won the state final and Georgia had a big role to play in that win both with bat and ball.” he said.

“She probably does a lot more batting these days than she does her bowling but definitely an all-round cricketer that’s for sure.

“She could play anywhere in the field, she could wicketkeep, she could be in the slips, the outfield.

“Her catching ability was unbelievable and her throwing arm was unbelievable and as a batter, just great hand-eye coordination.

“She could play shots all around the field and with finesse as well as with power.”

In her opening two clashes, Voll appeared calm at the crease and Tregaskis recalled her impressive strong mindset from her playing days at Fairholme.

“Georgia’s one of those girls that’s extremely competitive but a lot of that is internal,” he said.

“Sometimes she would have her mind in the game and people would have thought she is shy or didn’t want to be involved in the team but I think it was more about Georgia getting her head in the space to be competitive.

Georgia Voll in action for Fairholme College.

“I think while she probably is nervous on the inside, on the outside she does have that calm demeanour and I think that is why she has been able to get to where she has, is by just containing all those emotions.”

Having seen first hand the incredible sacrifices Voll’s family made to help her pursue her dream, with countless three-hour round trips between Toowoomba and Brisbane, Tregaskis was delighted to see the hours pay off.

“I think it’s fantastic for Georgia, her family have sacrificed a lot very early on by taking Georgia to Brisbane several times a week just for training and playing games,” he said.

“Eventually their move to Brisbane was because of all of that time on the road and the cost that had.

“She has had a great family support along the way and that’s probably the reason why Georgia is where she is.”

While the nation was cheering Voll on to her maiden ton, there were special celebrations in the Darling Downs town of Highfields - where Voll’s career kickstarted - as members of her junior club celebrated seeing one of their own make her mark.

Highfields and Districts Railway Cricket Club president Tony Morrish was “very proud” and said Voll’s efforts would provide a massive boost to the club.

Georgia Voll of Australia celebrates after scoring a century during game two of the Women's One Day International Series between Australia and India at Allan Border Field. Photo: Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images

“It will definitely have an impact, especially with the new (Toowoomba) ladies’ competition just starting as well,” he said.

The Bulldogs have played a key role in developing several Darling Downs cricket stars who have gone on to bigger and better things with Morrish revealing what he believed the key was.

“I think when a youngster comes through, I think identifying the talent pretty early and obviously you’ve got to focus on the enjoyment of the game, that’s very important,” he said.

“But just fostering that talent and individual coaching too is very important.

“It is okay to have your coaching and training in your team environment but you’ve also got to do that one-on-one too.”