Graduation for the WBBL class of 2020

With the curtain drawn on the six-week WBBL Hub, so it did for seven year 12 students completing their end-of-year exams.

Confined to the WBBL village, players in the hub put together a special year 12 graduation ceremony for their peers to celebrate the end of their schooling life.

Balancing cricket and studies is challenging enough by itself, but throw in the complexity of 2020 and living in a hub, it becomes a much greater task.

Class of 2020 left to right: Tess Flintoff (Stars), Kate Peterson (Thunder), Darcie Brown (Strikers), Chloe Abel (Hurricanes), Stella Campbell (Sixers), Alisha Bates (Sixers), Charli Knott (Heat) (not pictured),

Adelaide Strikers’ Darcie Brown had a breakout season during the sixth instalment of the WBBL, taking 10 wickets and an economy rate of 5.52. In between bowling to some of the best batters in world cricket, the 17-year-old was using her downtime to prepare for the examination period.

“I would try and get as much study done as I could. I tried to do at least a couple hours when we had spare time or a free day,” Brown said.

With a promising cricketing career ahead of her, and with budding competition coming from other codes such as netball and basketball, Brown said she is still aware of the importance of maintaining her studies and preparing for a life away from cricket.

With her tertiary preferences in place for next season, the teenager has identified Veterinary Science as a career path she’d like to pursue adjacent to cricket.

“You won't have cricket forever, which is what I've learnt from our PDM. So, it’s good to have a something [away from cricket].

Brown’s performances were a silver-lining for the Strikers’ after missing out on a finals berth. She was named WBBL06 Rebel Young Gun, awarded to the best player under 21, as selected by the Women’s National Selection Panel.

Finding range beyond the 120kms mark, excitement of the youngster’s potential grew over the season from fans, players and commentators alike, even drawing comparisons to legendary express bowler Cathryn Fitzpatrick.

“It was quite surreal to be able to bowl to the likes of Meg Lanning and Ellyse Perry and the international players as well, so that was a really good experience and so was having international players in our team.

“We were really lucky to have this season and we have been a lot better off compared to other places in Australia, like Victoria and even overseas. It was pretty cool to be able to play this season, and continue what we've been working on for ages without really get held up too much.”