Darcie Brown is still a fresh face in one of the most successful teams in world sporting history.
In the past 15 months, Brown has won an ODI World Cup, a T20 World Cup, a Commonwealth gold medal and a WBBL title. Most cricketers would take just one of those in their career — but Brown has hit a royal flush in just 35 games representing Australia.
It all began in Kapunda, a small town an hour north of Adelaide, where Brown had no choice but to play sport.
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“I’ve got two older brothers … I had to play sport to hang out with them, even though they probably didn’t like me doing it,” she said.
“Mum and Dad played lots of sport as well. In country communities that’s the only thing you can really do.”
Despite playing plenty of netball, Aussie Rules, basketball, tennis and softball, her bowling skills and raw pace meant cricket soon became the priority.
Pretty quickly, Brown was elevated into the Australian set-up, and since the age of 16 she has been playing at the highest level.
When she entered the Australian team, it was already an ultra-successful set-up and one thing stuck out about why they had hardly lost a game in years.
“It’s the secret juice we all drink,” Brown jokes.
“No, it’s hard to put your finger on it. I actually don’t do as much training as some people think. There’s a good balance to keep people fresh and wanting to keep coming back. You get yourself prepared, the coaches have that trust in you.”
Once they get out onto the field though, there is an intense desire to win. It’s not an expectation, but it’s a supreme confidence from years of success.
“We want to win, that’s the mindset that we go out with,” she said.
“We definitely don’t think we’re going to win every game, but we always have that drive to want to win, even if we get into a bit of a hole … we always find a way to track back, get an inspirational speech from Meg (Lanning) or ‘Midge’ (Alyssa Healy) to fire up a bit, but also stay calm and composed.”
But it’s pretty clear when Brown talks about the team, that they’re more than that.
“We’re like a big family, it’s pretty cool,” she said.
According to Brown, Megan Schutt “tries her best to be the class clown” while “Healy is a bit like a fun aunty kind of vibe, the one that doesn’t have any kids and is always up for it, but tells you off when you need it.”
Ellyse Perry, Brown says, is the “quiet leader who says some really big words … the words she says in bowling meetings. I’m like, ‘What does that even mean?’ She’s very inspirational, anything she says, you go, ‘That could be a quote on the front of a book.'”
Brown is happy in her role as the self-described “youngest sibling, the crazy one that people get annoyed by”.
One member of the family that isn’t going to line up in the Ashes is the team’s regular captain, Lanning, who has taken leave from the game for the second time in 12 months to focus on her health. And Brown says all the players are feeling for Lanning.
“It’s pretty sad to not see Meg come away with us for the Ashes,” Brown said.
“She’s taken some time away from the game already to get herself right and now this has happened, which is really sad for her. Hopefully she’ll be back happier and healthy. We’re trying to give her space and let her re-focus on getting herself better.”
Taking time away from cricket is something that Brown did recently for her own health, choosing not to put herself forward for the inaugural Indian WPL.
“I just needed a bit of a break … I went back and forward to Kapunda. Netty and footy season had started up, so I love going down there on Saturdays, even going down on Thursday nights helping out at training,” she said.
Brown also volunteered at Gorge Wildlife Park for six weeks and said it was “good fun, something totally different and something that I’m interested in”.
“I was mostly emptying lots of animal poo, shovelling that up, cleaning enclosures,” she said.
But for now her mind has moved from capybaras and koalas to winning the Ashes in England.
And as a big cricket fan, Brown said it would be a “pretty cool experience” to see the Barmy Army turn up in droves. Just as long as it does not have a ruthless chant ready for her.
“I hope not, but I would be interested to see it … it would be [an honour] … I’m a bit worried, I don’t want to cop it too much, but it would be really cool to see that,” she said.
What time does the Women’s Ashes start?
The first ball of the Women’s Ashes is set to be bowled at 8pm AEST tonight. This will be a one-off five-day Test match before three T20s and three one-day internationals.
How can I watch and listen to the Women’s Ashes?
ABC Sport will broadcast the entire series on the Listen app and Sport Digital. Channel Nine will telecast the Test on the Nine and Nine Now network.
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