Nicole Bolton's Early Start to State Cricket, Century on ODI Debut, and Support From the ACA Throughout It All

Nicole Bolton’s cricket journey began in the backyard, following her two older brothers around as they played on weekends.

Competitive cricket began at the age of 15, where Nicole got involved with the all-girls cricket side for Methodist Ladies’ College (MLC) in Perth, and then on to Subiaco Marist Cricket Club. From there, Nicole’s cricket took off, 18 months after her first taste of competitive, structured cricket at 15 years old, she was debuting for WA at the WACA.

“Everything happened quite quickly. Playing in the school comp, then playing Ladies A grade and then I was identified to go into the state pathways.

“As a 15-year-old, I started training with the Western Fury and then was fortunate enough to make my debut at 16 on the WACA against Queensland. 
So, in the space of 18 months, it all happened quite quickly.”

Nicole says being exposed to playing with adults helped develop her game rapidly, and gave credit to a strong premier competition in Perth, that assisted her development as a young player.

“We played 80-over cricket and 50-over cricket, and it was really competitive. There were some really good players. So to me, I was playing quite a high level of cricket from a club sense.

“I always played in teams older than what I was, so having that exposure at that level from such a young age progressed my skills quite quickly and from an understanding and education point, learning from some of those older players was hugely beneficial for my development.”

After ten years in and around the Western Australian setup, Nicole was selected to make her debut for Australia in an ODI.

In an Ashes series, at the MCG, Nicole became the first Australian woman to make a century on ODI debut. The stage doesn’t get much bigger, and Nicole rose to it.

“I debuted a lot later than some of the girls do these days. I was 25, had been in the state system for 10 years already, and probably over the preceding three years started to pull together some consistent performances for WA. 


“I felt as though my awareness of my game, my method, and being able to make consistent runs held me in really good stead for when I eventually did make my debut, I just felt more than ready.”

When Australia won the toss and batted, Nicole’s nerves kicked in. She headed over to the nets with her favourite bat to get her eye in pre-game , and her bat broke, so there was a quick dash back to the rooms to get a bat she hadn’t yet knocked in and hit up with that.

“It was a bit of a shambles to start before the first ball and plenty of nerves.

“Mum and dad had come over the night before, so to have them there on that morning to get my first cap and see my first win in an Ashes was pretty cool.”

Nicole went on to play 50 ODIs for Australia, as well as three Tests and two T20Is, scoring just under 2000 runs over the 55 matches for the Green and Gold. Bolton was an incredible player at state level; she finished her career with over 3000 WNCL runs and was named WNCL Player of the Year three times.

Post-career, Nicole never thought she’d become a coach. Throughout her playing career she was adamant once she finished up she’d go and find something different, which was the case for a few years, but once she got into coaching there was no looking back.

Nicole describes her first few years as a coach as a whirlwind. Her first year with South Australia, the Strikers went all the way to win the WBBL title, where circumstances led to Nicole stepping up into the head coaching role for a large part of the season, which “fast tracked the initiation into coaching”.

With the role at South Australia, Nicole spoke highly of how they’ve supported her development as a coach, which saw her head over to the WPL as a specialist coach with the Mumbai Indians.

“Come cricket season, my calendar and schedule is extremely busy, and I definitely don't stay in one place for long, but it's the lifestyle that I'm used to.”

Through both her playing and coaching career, the ACA's support has remained strong.

“The ACA Education Grants were huge for me,” Nicole said.

“I don't think I would have been in a position to persist with it if I didn't have the financial support of those education grants through the ACA. So, to go through uni, get a degree and have that support was hugely beneficial.”

Nicole has also tapped into wellbeing support through the ACA, and spoke to the support while transitioning off contract and as a past player.

“Transitioning out of the game and knowing that you’ve still got that support and you've still got access to those resources has been huge.

“You're not lost to the system completely, the ACA does a fantastic job in making sure that past players, transition players and current players are really well supported.”

ACA Members who would like to learn more about the support available, are encouraged to contact their Player Development Manager or aca@auscricket.com.au