When Lauren Cheatle looks back on the inaugural Women’s Big Bash League season, one particular moment stands out.
It was January 2016, and Cheatle was still a high school student representing the Sydney Thunder in a competition that was breaking new ground for women’s cricket.
The Thunder were taking on the Sydney Sixers in the WBBL01 final at the MCG, and Cheatle found herself in the middle of a finish she would never forget.
With two runs required for victory, Cheatle was on strike, facing Ellyse Perry, with Claire Koski at the non-striker’s end.
“She walks down and goes, ‘We’re running no matter what.’ And I’m like, ‘Yeah, yeah, no worries. Gotcha,'” Cheatle recalled.
With her legs shaking, Cheatle on strike watched the Perry delivery slide down the leg side and what happened next was a little less straightforward.
“I look up and she’s running. I’m like, ‘Oh yeah, I forgot that part.’ And then I’m just sending it.”
A throw missed the stumps, allowing the pair to complete a run and secure the victory.
Koski immediately picked Cheatle up and spun her around as the Thunder players ran onto the field to celebrate.
“It was a really cool experience,” Cheatle said.
Almost 12 seasons later, Cheatle is still part of the WBBL story, although these days she wears the colours of the Sydney Sixers.
From schoolgirl to senior player
Cheatle’s journey provides a fascinating perspective on just how much the competition has changed since its introduction.
Back in WBBL01, the players were navigating an entirely new environment, with four games squeezed into a weekend, sometimes playing twice in a day and travelling between venues.
For Cheatle, who was still at school, it was a very different experience to the professional environment enjoyed by today’s players.
“To see the growth of that has been really exciting,” she said.
The evolution extends well beyond the WBBL.
Women’s cricket has become a full-time profession, with players able to dedicate themselves to training, developing their skills and performing at the highest level.
Cheatle now finds herself in a very different position within the Sixers environment.
Rather than being one of the youngsters learning the ropes, she is now an experienced campaigner with an opportunity to help the next generation.
She particularly enjoys watching young teammates such as Caiomhe Bray and Eva Ragg develop their games.
“They’re so skilled. I wasn’t half as talented as Caiomhe at her age,” Cheatle said.
Having the opportunity to play alongside many of these younger players throughout the year with New South Wales, as well as during the WBBL, gives her an opportunity to watch their development up close.
While she is happy to offer advice when needed, Cheatle also appreciates what the younger players bring to the group.
“They give everyone else a really nice balance of what it’s like to be young and playing cricket and just enjoying the sport for what it is.”
It’s a reminder that experience isn’t simply about passing knowledge down. There is plenty that senior players can learn from the enthusiasm and fresh perspective of those coming through.
A Sixers squad full of reasons to watch
The Sydney Sixers entered the new WBBL campaign with plenty of confidence following their successful Women’s T20 Spring Challenge campaign.
For Cheatle, the tournament provided a valuable opportunity for the club’s domestic and state-based players to step into bigger roles.
With several international stars unavailable during the Spring Challenge, other players were given the opportunity to shine.
She highlighted the performances of Frankie Nicklin and Elsa Hunter, who took on different responsibilities within the side.
The experience provided confidence that the Sixers have considerable depth throughout their squad.
“It’s really cool. The group’s in a really great spot,” Cheatle said.
And when asked which players might convince someone who doesn’t normally watch cricket to switch on the television, Cheatle found it almost impossible to narrow down the options.
She pointed to the superstar qualities of Ellyse Perry, the power hitting of Sophia Dunkley and Ash Gardner, the fielding brilliance of Erin Burns and the competitive nature of Sarah Coyte.
There was also plenty of excitement surrounding the young talent coming through, including Caiomhe Bray and Eva Ragg, alongside international stars such as England’s Alice Capsey and New Zealand captain Amelia Kerr.
For Cheatle, the attraction of the Sixers is that there isn’t just one player worth watching.
She believes the entire squad has something to offer.
A competition that continues to grow
Having experienced the WBBL from its very first season, Cheatle is ideally placed to appreciate the transformation of the competition.
In the early days, playing under lights, appearing on television and performing in front of large crowds were all relatively new experiences.
Today, those environments are part of the regular cricketing landscape.
“The world’s best players playing in the world’s best domestic comp,” Cheatle said when reflecting on what makes the competition so exciting.
She also believes the WBBL benefits the international game, with overseas players exposed to different conditions and challenges before taking those experiences back to their home countries.
For someone who has been involved since the beginning, seeing that continued improvement is something she feels fortunate to have experienced.
A dream net session with three special guests
To finish our conversation, we asked Lauren to invite three people to her dream cricket net session.
Her first selection was particularly special.
“I lost my dad two years ago, so I’d love to bring him back in for a net session because I grew up in the nets with him. So would love to roll the arm over with the old man again.”
It was a touching response and a reminder of the people who help shape our love of cricket long before professional careers begin.
For the other two invitations, Cheatle turned to a couple of childhood cricketing heroes.
Glenn McGrath was her bowling idol growing up, while Mike Hussey was someone she could happily watch bat for days.
Three very different reasons for an invitation, but together they would make for a pretty special afternoon in the nets.
From a schoolgirl celebrating a dramatic WBBL01 victory with the Sydney Thunder to an experienced senior player at the Sydney Sixers, Lauren Cheatle has witnessed the remarkable growth of women’s cricket from the inside.
And while the competition has changed enormously, one thing clearly hasn’t.
The excitement of another Big Bash summer remains just as strong.
Quick Singles is a series of short conversations with the people who make cricket such a wonderful game, brought to you by The Cricket Library.
