Wikipedia

Hannah Darlington

Hannah Joy Darlington (born 25 January 2002) is an Australian cricketer who made her debut for the national women's team in September 2021. A right-arm medium-pace bowler, Darlington is the current captain of the Sydney Thunder in the Women's Big Bash League (WBBL) and vice-captain of the New South Wales Breakers in the Women's National Cricket League (WNCL).[1][2] In 2021, she won the Betty Wilson Young Cricketer of the Year award.[3]

Hannah Darlington
Personal information
Full name
Hannah Joy Darlington
Born (2002-01-25) 25 January 2002 (age 22)
Sydney, New South Wales
BattingRight-handed
BowlingRight-arm medium
RoleAll-rounder
International information
National side
ODI debut (cap 145)21 September 2021 v India
Last ODI24 September 2021 v India
T20I debut (cap 55)7 October 2021 v India
Last T20I9 October 2021 v India
Domestic team information
YearsTeam
2017–presentSydney Thunder
2019–20Otago
2019–presentNew South Wales
Career statistics
Competition WLA WT20
Matches 28 78
Runs scored 246 341
Batting average 3.60 11.00
100s/50s 0/0 0/0
Top score 42 30
Balls bowled 1,126 1,628
Wickets 26 97
Bowling average 39.04 19.44
5 wickets in innings 0 1
10 wickets in match 0 0
Best bowling 3/30 5/10
Catches/stumpings 2/– 12/–
Source: ESPNcricinfo, 9 October 2021

Early life and education

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Hailing from Erskine Park in Western Sydney, Darlington has Indigenous heritage and identifies as a member of the Kamilaroi people.[4] While in primary school, she accidentally hit a teacher in the head with a ball and was given a choice of attending detention or joining the cricket team, prompting her formal introduction to the sport.[5] She completed her HSC at Westfields Sports High School.[6][7]

Domestic career

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Women's Big Bash League

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At 15 years of age, Darlington signed with the Sydney Thunder ahead of the 2017–18 Women's Big Bash League season.[8] In 2018, she was selected as the captain for the Thunder's first female Indigenous XI.[9][10]

Darlington earned her WBBL debut in the opening match of the 2019–20 season on the same day of her Year 12 English exam.[4] She made her first major impression on the league in her third appearance by taking a difficult match-winning catch on the last ball of a three-run victory against the Melbourne Renegades at Blacktown ISP Oval. Primarily contributing to the team through her medium-pace bowling, Darlington claimed 16 wickets during the tournament at an economy rate of 6.82, leading to her winning the WBBL|05 Young Gun Award and being named the Thunder's Player of the Season.[11][12]

After overcoming a lower-leg injury early in the 2020–21 season, Darlington affirmed her status as "one of the best death bowlers"[13] in the league—on 8 November at Hurstville Oval, for example, she restricted the Hobart Hurricanes to nine runs off the final over of the match to help secure a one-run victory.[14] The "level-headed"[15] teenager then delivered her first Player of the Match performance in a "chaotic"[16] semi-final against the Brisbane Heat, claiming figures of 3/19 and sparking a memorable comeback victory. The Thunder would go on to defeat the Melbourne Stars in the final, and Darlington was named in the WBBL|06 Team of the Tournament.[17]

Women's Super Smash

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Having missed out on a WNCL contract for the 2019–20 season, Darlington opted to spend much of the summer overseas playing for the Otago Sparks in New Zealand's domestic T20 competition, the Women's Super Smash.[18] She took 13 wickets at an economy rate of 5.75 throughout the tournament while her team finished in third place, losing to the Auckland Hearts in an elimination final.[19][20]

Women's National Cricket League

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Darlington made her debut for the New South Wales Breakers during the 2019–20 Women's National Cricket League season, taking 2/29 from ten overs in a one-wicket victory against Tasmania.[21][22] On 26 February 2021, at 19 years and 31 days, she became the youngest-ever captain in New South Wales' 165-year history of senior cricket teams, standing in for regular Breakers captain Alyssa Healy in a WNCL match against Tasmania which ended in a tie.[23]

International career

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Darlington was selected for an Indigenous team which toured the United Kingdom in 2018 as a celebration of the 150th anniversary of the 1868 Aboriginal tour of England.[24] In March 2019, she toured New Zealand as a member of the Australian Under-19 squad, though the trip ended prematurely due to the Christchurch terror attack.[18]

Darlington was named in Australia's limited overs squad for their tour of New Zealand in March 2021,[25][26] but was not selected in the playing XI during the six-match schedule. She was then named in Australia's squad for a multi-format series against India later in the year.[27] During the series, Darlington made her Women's One Day International (WODI) debut on 21 September 2021,[28] as well as her Women's Twenty20 International (WT20I) debut on 7 October 2021.[29]

In January 2022, Darlington was named in Australia's squad for their series against England to contest the Women's Ashes.[30] Later the same month, she was named as a reserve in Australia's team for the 2022 Women's Cricket World Cup in New Zealand.[31] However, she subsequently withdrew from the squad to take a break from cricket, and was replaced by Heather Graham.[32][33]

References

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  1. ^ "Teenage Darlington becomes youngest WBBL captain". cricket.com.au. Retrieved 11 November 2021.
  2. ^ "Young gun named Breakers VC in first season". cricket.com.au. Retrieved 11 November 2021.
  3. ^ "Darlington eyes the one-day game as her next evolution". cricket.com.au. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
  4. ^ a b "'That is pretty incredible for a 17-year-old'". cricket.com.au. Retrieved 14 November 2019.
  5. ^ Seconi, Adrian (10 January 2020). "Lesson learned at school". Otago Daily Times Online News. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
  6. ^ "Thunder partners with Westfields Sports High School". Sydney Thunder. Archived from the original on 7 December 2020. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
  7. ^ "Darlington bowled over by change in her game". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
  8. ^ "Darlington Becomes The First Graduate Of The Thunder WBBL Academy". Sydney Thunder. Archived from the original on 15 January 2018. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
  9. ^ "Teenage star to captain first female Indigenous XI for Thunder". Cricket NSW. Archived from the original on 3 July 2020. Retrieved 14 November 2019.
  10. ^ Osborne, Kayla (19 September 2019). "Hannah Darlington re-signs with Sydney Thunder". Fairfield City Champion. Archived from the original on 1 October 2019. Retrieved 14 November 2019.
  11. ^ "Darlington named WBBL|05 Young Gun". cricket.com.au. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
  12. ^ "Darlington wins Alex Blackwell Medal". Sydney Thunder. Archived from the original on 13 July 2021. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
  13. ^ "From Thunder Academy to Australian squad". Sydney Thunder. Archived from the original on 14 June 2021. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
  14. ^ Keoghan, Sarah (8 November 2020). "Devine intervention sees Sixers handed first loss, Thunder topple Hurricanes". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
  15. ^ "The secret to Darlington's success in WBBL|06". cricket.com.au. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
  16. ^ "'Crazy': Cricket champs suffer horror collapse". NewsComAu. 26 November 2020. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
  17. ^ "Devine takes top individual gong in WBBL awards". cricket.com.au. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
  18. ^ a b "Darlington determined to seize latest opportunity". cricket.com.au. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
  19. ^ "New Zealand Cricket Women's Twenty20, 2019/20 Cricket Team Records & Stats | ESPNcricinfo.com". Cricinfo. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
  20. ^ "Full Scorecard of Otago Women vs AK Women Preliminary Final 2019/20 - Score Report | ESPNcricinfo.com". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
  21. ^ "Darlington set to make NSW debut". Sydney Thunder. Archived from the original on 13 July 2021. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
  22. ^ "Full Scorecard of Tas Women vs NSW Women 22nd Match 2019/20 - Score Report | ESPNcricinfo.com". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
  23. ^ AAP (27 February 2021). "Youngest ever NSW captain trusted with Breakers legacy". Cricket.com.au. Cricket Australia. Retrieved 27 February 2021.
  24. ^ "Hannah Darlington: on cricket in the UK and playing for the Sydney Thunder". Indigenous.gov.au. 10 December 2018. Retrieved 14 November 2019.
  25. ^ "Teenage quicks bolt into Aussie squad for NZ tour". Cricket Australia. Retrieved 23 February 2021.
  26. ^ "Hannah Darlington: 'Every day I'm pinching myself that this is happening'". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 24 February 2021.
  27. ^ "Stars ruled out, bolters named in squad to play India". Cricket Australia. Retrieved 18 August 2021.
  28. ^ "1st ODI, Mackay, Sep 21 2021, India Women tour of Australia". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 21 September 2021.
  29. ^ "1st T20I (N), Carrara, Oct 7 2021, India Women tour of Australia". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 7 October 2021.
  30. ^ "Alana King beats Amanda-Jade Wellington to place in Australia's Ashes squad". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
  31. ^ "Wellington, Harris return in Australia's World Cup squad". Cricket Australia. Retrieved 26 January 2022.
  32. ^ "Hannah Darlington withdraws from Australia's World Cup squad". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 8 February 2022.
  33. ^ Jolly, Laura (5 July 2022). "Darlington opens up on decision to skip the World Cup". Cricket.com.au. Retrieved 5 July 2022.
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