Chloe Ainsworth: Perth Scorchers’ breakout WBBL09 star rises from Canning Vale to the big time
Chloe Ainsworth was supposed to be graduating high school the day she announced herself to the WBBL. TIM MICHELL gets to know how one of the rising stars of Australian cricket made such a quick impression.
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Hayley Matthews. Chamari Athapaththu. Grace Harris. Lizelle Lee.
Chloe Ainsworth’s list of scalps from her maiden WBBL campaign reads like a who’s who of the world’s best T20 cricketers.
“When I look back on it, it’s pretty cool, but when I’m in a game, they’re just batters and anyone can get out,” she said.
“As long as I have my own plan on what to do and I execute, I know I can get them out.”
The Canning Vale junior only turned 18 a week before making her Perth Scorchers debut on October 20.
She was supposed to be graduating from Kent Street Senior High School the day she was handed the new ball by Sophie Devine.
“I didn’t really think I’d be playing that much this season to be fair,” Ainsworth said.
“The coaches and all the players around me have backed me in, which has been really good. It gives me some confidence.”
2 wickets in her first Big Bash over 🙌
— Weber Women's Big Bash League (@WBBL) October 20, 2023
Take a bow, Chloe Ainsworth! #WBBL09pic.twitter.com/N738MofAay
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Ainsworth’s second ball tailed into the pads of South African Lizelle Lee, one of the most prolific overseas batters in the history of the WBBL.
It then cannonned back into the stumps, giving the teenager a dream start to her WBBL career.
Four balls later, things got even better.
Heather Graham failed to make contact with another ball tailing in and after one over, Ainsworth had 2-2.
“When they said I was opening the bowling in my debut in Tassie, it was a bit of a shock,” she said.
“I was just so excited, I wanted to make the most out of it and try to keep my spot in the team.”
She celebrated the debut win by calling into her school’s graduation ceremony on FaceTime.
18yo Chloe Ainsworth has removed Chamari Athapaththu and Marizanne Kapp with back-to-back balls! 😱#WBBL09pic.twitter.com/JK2ENAYDXt
— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) November 12, 2023
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Ainsworth should have been a known commodity months before her destructive start as a Scorcher.
She opened the Under-19 World Cup in January with 2-9 against Bangladesh, before disaster struck.
In a cruel - and bizarre - twist of fate, Ainsworth and her roommate Jade Allen both broke their thumbs and played no further part in the tournament.
Australia progressed to the semi-final without the pair, losing by three runs against England.
It was a case of what might have been for Ainsworth.
“I went for a catch and my thumb just pretty much snapped,” she said.
“I think (Jade) dove for the ball and it cooked it.
“I had surgery on it when I got back and I was out for probably eight weeks. By then, the season was over anyway.”
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WBBL09 will be remembered as a tournament where the future of Australian fast bowling was uncovered.
Asked to fill the void left by South African superstar Marizanne Kapp, Ainsworth has belied her inexperience to be one of the tournament’s most successful seamers.
Her Australian under-19 teammate Milly Illingworth - who has been likened to pace legend Jeff Thomson - has eclipsed the 120km/h mark at 18 years of age.
Left-armer Sara Kennedy debuted for Melbourne Renegades at 16, taking the wickets of Maitlan Brown and Ash Gardner in her fourth game.
And at 22, Brisbane Heat’s Courtney Sippel continues to attract admirers with a potent mix of pace and swing.
Ainsworth said it was “pretty cool” to be considered part of Australia’s next gen.
And she has Illingworth’s speed reading in her sights, declaring, “I would like to bowl that quick.”
Throw in the injured Darcie Brown - who is still only 20 - and a resurgent Hannah Darlington and Australia’s bowling stocks are set for the next decade.
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She might be quietly spoken, but watch Ainsworth roar when she takes a wicket.
Her celebration after rattling Lee’s stumps in Launceston was a loud warning to the Scorchers’ WBBL rivals.
“I get very excited when I take wickets,” she said.
“I was on a bit of a high.
“Sophie (Devine) said I almost turned into a boxer when I was trying to high-five people.”
Ainsworth scored her first fifty for Canning Vale in November, 2019, blasting seven fours as she reached the milestone in 39 balls.
Those batting talents remain largely untapped in the WBBL, though.
The incomparable opening partnership of Devine and Beth Mooney has protected Perth’s lower-order for years, ensuring they are rarely needed with the willow.
Not that Ainsworth would pass up the opportunity.
“I’d like to make my way up the order and show people what I can do with the bat,” she said.
“(But) as long as I can do whatever I can for the team to put them in a better position, that would be nice.”
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Originally published as Chloe Ainsworth: Perth Scorchers’ breakout WBBL09 star rises from Canning Vale to the big time
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