Bolton: Players grateful for the opportunity to get WBBL06 up and running

From quarantines to living in hubs, there’s been no question about the players’ commitment to get the WBBL season up and running.

The final WBBL schedule was confirmed only a month ago, prompting players to enter hubs and quarantine before descending on the WBBL Sydney Village.

Despite a revamped WBBL fixture and with significant alterations due to COVID-19, Perth Scorchers’ Nicole Bolton says the players have remained grateful they are still able to play the game they love.

“Once we knew the WBBL was going ahead, everyone was pretty bloody excited to be honest. I know everyone that's over here in the hub is really excited that we’re going to play some cricket and showcase one of the best domestic competitions in in the world.

“We're really grateful that Cricket Australia, the ACA and everyone's worked really hard to be able to put on this event and provide hub life so that we can actually do it. It's exciting.”

Compared to the eastern states, the impact of COVID-19 has not been felt as greatly in Western Australia. Because of those eased restriction, Western Australia and Perth Scorchers have been able to fulfil a long pre-season which commenced in May.

It was in transit where Bolton and her teammates were able to gain a greater understanding of how COVID-19 has affected the eastern states, and in particular, their compatriots in New South Wales and Victoria.

“It was quite bizarre, really, when we're sitting in the airport with gloves and masks on, and no one else in Perth airport is wearing them. You sort of get a real appreciation, from our point of view of what's happening over in other parts of the world.

“Being around the hub and talking to a lot of other girls, particularly from Victoria, they have really struggled to be able to get consistent training periods outdoors, and obviously, their circumstances coming over here two weeks prior to everyone else and only being allowed to train for a certain amount of time throughout the day.

“We get a real appreciation of the work that everyone's done over here that's allowed us to come over and be able to play in something like this.”

Last season, Bolton was awarded WA’s Zoe Goss Medal as she topped the WNCL’s run-scorers listed, guiding Western Australia to their first-ever WNCL title.