Changed fortunes a charm for Cheatle

Sixers quick Lauren Cheatle has put a frustrating run of illness and injury behind her as she prepares to play her first Rebel WBBL finals match in magenta this weekend.

The left-arm quick jumped ship from Sydney Thunder to the Sixers ahead of WBBL|03, only to be ruled out of the entire season due to a back injury.

But having worked her way back to full fitness for WBBL|04, Cheatle says she’s relishing an extended stint on the playing field as she prepares for Saturday’s semi-final against the Melbourne Renegades at Drummoyne Oval.

“I’m so excited, I think we’ve had a really good year, winning 10 out of 14 games is a really good achievement and we’re really looking forward to this next week,” Cheatle told cricket.com.au.

“I’m really looking forward to it personally, it’s my first final with the Sixers so I’m just trying to enjoy it as much as I can.”

Cheatle has played all 14 home-and-away matches for the Sixers this summer, steadily building up her work rate as the season progressed.

It took three matches for the 20-year-old to take her first Sixers wicket, but since collecting the scalps of former Thunder teammate Naomi Stalenberg and India superstar Harmanpreet Kaur at North Sydney Oval last month she’s picked up 14 wickets at 15.92.

“The more time I’ve been able to spend injury free, the more I can get used to bowling more overs and stringing some performances together which is really nice,” she said.

“I was bowling one-over spells (early in the season) and they were getting spanked, so it’s nice to bowl three or four overs a game and get some wickets as well.”

Since making her Australian debut aged 17 in early 2016 – shortly after helping the Thunder take out the first ever WBBL title – Cheatle has been hit by a succession of frustrating setbacks.

She was sidelined for much of the 2016-17 Rebel WBBL season due to illness, before she suffered a shoulder injury while training for a T20I series against New Zealand in early 2017.

Cheatle returned to make her ODI debut in Auckland in February 2017 and earned a place in Australia’s preliminary 2017 World Cup squad, only to be ruled out of the tournament when it was determined she required a shoulder reconstruction.

Undergoing that surgery in May 2017, she began bowling again last August and was pushing for a place in Australia’s XI during the Women’s Ashes last summer when it was discovered she’d sustained a back stress fracture, an injury that ruled her out of the remainder of the season.

Cheatle resumed bowling during the winter and, after spending a full preseason with the NSW Breakers and the National Performance Squad in Brisbane, had herself primed for the 2018-19 summer.

“(My body’s) feeling really good, it’s holding up really well and I feel really good, so I can’t ask for much more than that really,” Cheatle said.

The left-armer hasn’t played for Australia since March 2017, but there’s no doubt she remains on the radar of Australian selectors, given her presence in the National Performance Squad and her unique capabilities as the country’s top female left-arm quick.

But right now her attention is firmly on the WBBL, where the Bowral product says she’s enjoyed working closely with Sixers coach Ben Sawyer – who has also worked with the Australian women’s team has a specialist bowling coach in recent months – and captain Ellyse Perry during her first playing season with the Sixers.

“It’s been awesome, I’m loving it,” she said. “It’s fun being in a successful team, but they’re also good people so I’m really enjoying my time.”

The Sixers – who are vying for a third consecutive Big Bash title – will play the Renegades for a spot in the WBBL|04 decider at Drummoyne Oval on Saturday from 1.50pm.

Despite coming out on top both times the sides met during the regular season, Cheatle says the minor premiers won’t be taking anything for granted.

“We’ve had two good wins against them but finals cricket is something different and anything can happen on the day,” Cheatle added.

“With an attack and batting order like that, anything can happen so it’s definitely not a game we’re taking lightly at all.”