Multisport junior star wastes little time turning from hockey grand final hero to cricket destroyer

Three weeks after scoring the only goal in OHA’s women’s Premier League hockey win, Maddison Brooks has cracked the second highest T20 score in all CTPL women’s grades. WATCH THE HIGHLIGHTS >>

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THE dust has barely settled on Maddison Brooks’ match winning effort in the women’s Premier League grand final but the talented teen is already wielding another piece of wood to devastating effect.

Brooks nailed a brilliant reverse stick goal in OHA’s 1-0 victory against DiamondBacks three weeks ago, and has quickly turned her attention to her summer love of cricket.

On Sunday the 16-year-old blasted an incredible unbeaten 140 from only 67 balls in Clarence’s second grade Twenty20 win against North Hobart — hours after playing in the first grade match against New Town.

Talented teenager Maddi Brooks scored 140 not out in a T20 match for Clarence yesterday, the second highest score in any grade in the women’s CTPL competition. Picture: RICHARD JUPE

It is the second highest T20 score in any grade in the CTPL women’s competition, putting Brooks in illustrious company just behind England captain Heather Knight, who scored 141 not out for the Roos six years ago.

Brooks, who made her first grade debut at just 13, struck 25 boundaries and a six in her masterpiece, showing no signs of fatigue from a non stop six month period of overlapping sports.

“It has been really good, I have been training for cricket all throughout the hockey season, a couple of trainings clashed so I had to pick either one, it’s been a good challenge,” said Brooks, whose twin Taylor also played in both matches on Sunday.

“I’m playing first grade and second grade at the start of this season, just seeing how I go.

“It was really good to get out in the middle, I struggled a bit at the start of the year but it was good to score a big total.

“I guess I was pretty shocked, I just played my natural game and everything came together.”

Maddison Brooks (left) and Jean Flanagan of OHA celebrate a goal in the Women's hockey grand final between DiamondBacks and OHA. Picture: NIKKI DAVIS-JONES

Brooks is prodigiously talented in both sports, having being named MVP at the national under-15 hockey championships for three consecutive years and picked in the Australian under-17 team last August.

In last year’s CTPL development league — which underpinned the first grade competition until this season’s restructure — she scored 226 runs in eight matches, being dismissed just once.

It all points to some potential hard decisions down the track but for now she is content juggling a heavy workload.

“I suppose I will just see what happens, but at the moment there is a good balance between the two and I am able to play both.”

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