Holden or Ford?
Cricket or detention?
Yeah — the last one is not really a choice, is it?
But that is exactly how Australian 17-year-old Hannah Darlington got her start in the sport.
She was at primary school when someone hit a tennis ball over a brick fence. She threw it back without knowing where it would land and collected a teacher ‘‘flush in the back of the head’’.
He was so impressed with her arm he gave her an ultimatum — come to cricket practice or go to detention.
Hmmm — lines or a net session? Tough call.
Darlington went to that cricket practice, surprisingly enough.
‘‘So that was the start of it and it has worked out quite well,’’ Darlington said.
Yes, it has. The teenager made her debut for the Sydney Thunder in November — just hours after taking a school English exam — and went on to have a tremendous rookie season.
The all-rounder nabbed 16 wickets, chipped in with some handy runs and collected a cheque for $A5000 ($NZ5168) for the Rebel Young Gun award.
And she passed that exam, too.
‘‘I had three essays to do and a short story in the two and a-half hours. When I had finished I headed straight to the gym to get a primary session in and then straight to the ground and into warm-ups,’’ Darlington said.
Once the Women’s Big Bash had concluded, she made her way to New Zealand to play for the Sparks.
It took Darlington a while to adjust to the different conditions. But she has picked up four wickets in her last three games and is an important cog in the line-up.
The Sparks play Central Districts at the University of Otago Oval tomorrow and must win the game to secure a playoff spot.
The game would not be so critical had the Sparks not been docked a half-point for a slow over rate in the win against Northern Districts in Alexandra late last year.
‘‘I don’t think we will approach it any differently. I think we’ve played every game with the same mindset and it has been working so far.
‘‘We are just going to go out there and put a performance on the board that we think might knock them off.’’
Otago beat Central Districts by 72 runs in Napier on January 2, so it will start as a warm favourite.
White Ferns and Otago opener Suzie Bates is the competition’s leading scorer with 430 runs, at average of 71.66. The skipper, Katey Martin, has been a big contributor as well. She has scored 206 runs at 29.42, while Australian all-rounder Amanda-Jade Wellington has been in devastating touch since arriving for the second half of the tournament.
The leg spinner has clubbed 82 runs at a strike rate of 182.22 and has taken seven wickets in three games.
