More to Sixers' Smith than just spin

The Sydney Sixers' first Rebel WBBL final appearance seemed like an impossible dream.

Six games into the league's inaugural season, the team in magenta had yet to register a win and there had been some heavy defeats to deal with as well.

From a playing group largely comprising of NSW Breakers players – who had known little else but roaring success in domestic cricket – it was a foreign position.

But off-spinner Lauren Smith remembers the turning point.

In their seventh start for the season, taking on Perth Scorchers – a team which had earlier defeated them by nine wickets with 40 balls to spare – things finally clicked for the group which would go on to become a WBBL powerhouse.

"I just clearly remember we had a really rough start to WBBL|01," Smith told bigbash.com.au. "We lost a few games in a row, and then I just clearly remember this one game we played at the SCG against Perth Scorchers, and that was our very first win.

"I don't know what the win did to us, but it fired us up a little bit."

That might be an understatement. The Sixers drastically turned around their fortunes, winning their next nine matches in a row to not only finish top four, but book a spot in the WBBL|01 decider against crosstown rival Sydney Thunder.

That game went the way of the lime green team, who won the title by three wickets with just three balls to spare, but Smith said merely making the final had been monumental for her side.

"I think we were just really stoked to be there, from the start we had," she said. "Having a loss, we were all just still happy to be there in the final at least, and having two Sydney teams in the final, it just shows you how dominant New South Wales cricket is as well, to have two teams in the first Women’s Big Bash final."

The Sixers weren't made to wait long for their first championship success, taking out the WBBL|02 final against the Scorchers, on the other side of a thrilling result the second time around.

They prevailed by seven runs, with Smith doing her bit to help the team, bowling a neat 0-18 off three overs and inflicting a crucial run-out.

But the reigning champions were quick to put their success behind them at the start of WBBL|03, spending a short time reflecting on what they had achieved before setting their sights on the new prize.

"We (were) going to have to try to be a bit stronger and better in all aspects of the game, because we know all the other Big Bash teams (were) going to be right on our tail this season," Smith said.

For Smith, the new season presented a chance to show a lesser-known aspect of her game.

Selected in the side predominantly for her spin bowling, Smith has had her first chance to spend time at the crease as a batter, making 26 runs from limited opportunities with a strike rate of 123.81.

"I've been doing well with the ball, with my off-spin and taking a few catches and run-outs," she said.

"I'm hoping to get a bit of my batting in there for the Big Bash and show a few people what I can do with the ball as well."

It was an aspect of her game Smith had the chance to work on last year when she spent six months in England, playing cricket for Lancashire County Cricket Club.

While there, she still worked in plenty of bowling spells, but she was able to let her batting become the main focus of her game.

"I was more of a batter over there than a bowler, which was really good," Smith said. "I just thought I'd change it up a bit.

"And then I came back to Australia and people were saying that my batting's improved a lot.

"I just really wanted to focus on my batting over there, because I know my bowling over here in Australia is a really big aspect of my game, so I wanted just to change it up.”

Some of Smith's fondest memories of junior cricket were with the bat in hand.

She first got into the sport when she grew discontented with watching from the sidelines when her older brother, James, would play.

"I used to go along and watch him, but I got a bit bored on the sidelines, so I kind of just joined in under his wing," Smith said.

"I played two years above my age, against all boys, so it kind of kicked off in junior cricket. And then I heard about all the New South Wales underage teams, like under-15s and under-18s, and I went down that pathway.

"I was bowling pace at that young age, and once I started getting into the New South Wales squads at 15 years old, I thought, 'I’m never going to grow that tall’, so I changed to off-spin bowling.

"Whenever I got the opportunity to bat with my brother was always a highlight.

"I remember having this little stint with him at the end of one of the 50-over matches. He was batting really well and I was just down the other end watching him.

"I think that just kind of inspired me to be a batter like he is, nice and attacking. I think that was a really good time, watching him bat."

Smith was still in school when she made her domestic debut.

Her impressive form through the junior pathways system had caught the eye of NSW Breakers selectors, and she'd earned a spot on the list.

The timing of her big debut - right on the eve of her Year 12 exams - was perhaps not ideal, but Smith didn't let it faze her in the least.

"I was doing my HSC and I got called in to play my first-ever WNCL match, to make my debut, and it was the day before my English exam - that very first exam," she said.

"The exam was on the Monday and we played on the Sunday. That was a very intense time, trying to study, but also prepare myself for my first ever game for New South Wales."

And the result? She claimed 4-36 in a brilliant first-up performance - and was "pretty happy" with how she went in her English exam the next day, too.

She's certainly someone who can perform well under pressure, and Sixers coach Ben Sawyer says its something her teammates are well aware of.

He points to two crucial moments in the Sixers' WBBL|02 campaign to demonstrate the faith the Sixers have in Smith.

"Ellyse Perry threw her the ball when she was captain, in the last over against the Thunder, before that Super Over," he said. "She entrusted her with that last over.

"And when Alyssa Healy was captain (in the WBBL|02 decider), we had Marizanne Kapp, but she went for Lauren Smith the last over in a final.

"So for a 20-year-old, to be given that responsibility just shows how much the group thinks of her ability."