Hannah Darlington

This sport is famously known for its tales, Hannah Joy Darlington’s a story worth telling. An upcoming seam-bowling all-rounder who has come through the ranks for Australia. Her cricketing journey started with an accident when she hit her school-teacher in the head with the ball, and had to make a choice between detention or joining the cricket team. She chose the second option and that was the beginning of a never-ending love story.

Darlington is a right-arm medium bowler who is well potent to bat at Number Six. She represents Sydney Thunder in the WBBL and became the youngest cricketer to lead New South Wales. In 2019, Sydney Thunder picked the promising all-rounder for the Women’s Big Bash League, and she stood tall on all the hopes. Darlington enjoyed her time with the bowl as she bagged 16 wickets in her maiden season and bowled 101 dots during her 13 outings. From that point onwards she did not miss a beat and her club awarded the all-rounder by a new two-year deal in February 2020.

Darlington’s performances earned her the Rebel WBBL|05 Young Gun award and the Alex Blackwell Medal. After the WBBL, she played for Otago Sparks in New Zealand’s domestic T20 league and returned home to make her debut for New South Wales. Darington was also stunning in the sixth edition of the WBBL as well, where she took 19 wickets in 12 games at a strike rate of 13.26 and played a vital cog in her franchise’s title clinch. 

In February 2021, she became the youngest player to lead NSW in its 165-year history. In March, Cricket Australia bagged the upcoming talent of Darlington in the limited-overs squad for the New Zealand tour. The promising would be eyeing to don the Australian jersey and play with the likes of Ellyse Perry and Megan Schutt.