Teenage tearaway handed SA contract

If you haven’t yet heard the name Darcie Brown, it’s about time you remember it.

The 16-year-old tearaway was today unveiled as one of three new faces in South Australia’s squad for the 2019-20 Women’s National Cricket League season.

Despite her youth, Brown has been drawing praise for her pace bowling for several years, and the right-arm quick has been clocked at speeds of up to 116 km/h, making her one of the fastest female bowlers in South Australia.

Prior to being offered a state contract, Brown was selected as the youngest member of the Australian Under-19 side that toured New Zealand in March.

Shelley Nitschke, coach of that under-19 team and a stalwart of South Australian cricket, is among those who’ve noticed Brown’s prodigious talent.

"She’s a little tearaway quick, a very good player and probably one of the quicker young bowlers getting around and she’s only 16,” said Nitschke, who is also assistant coach of the Australian women.

Raised in Kapunda, Brown has also shown promise with the bat, scoring her maiden Premier century for the Northern Districts Jets in October last year.

Fellow Scorpion and Northern Districts skipper Tegan McPharlin is keen to see what the future holds for Brown.

"As the younger girls build up and get stronger in the gym and then, over time, their body matures, that’s when they add pace, so for her to do it from an early age already, it’s clearly just a natural talent that she has that not a lot of girls have,” McPharlin told News Ltd earlier this year. 

"It’s a great weapon for us at Northern Districts, but hopefully for women’s cricket in the future.”

Brown, who recently relocated to Adelaide to pursue her sport, certainly seems to have natural talent in spades.

Brown was part of the victorious South Australian Under-17 team at this year’s National Netball Championships, and has also represented her state in Australian Rules football at an under-age level.

Also joining the ranks at the Scorpions are Stacey Oates and Emma de Broughe, who have both shown promise in Premier and pathway competitions.

The South Australians endured a rocky 2018-19 season; spearheaded by Megan Schutt, the Scorpions finished the WNCL season at the bottom of the table with just two wins under their belt.

However, new coach Luke Williams is pleased with the squad that has been put together ahead of the season.

"I’d expect us to be really competitive straight away and although there’s been some change in our list, we certainly think that the girls that have come onto contract (are) capable of playing this season,” Williams said.

Katelyn Pope, Sarah Lowe, Brook Harris and Kelly Armstrong are all finishing up with the Scorpions.

South Australia Scorpions squad : Megan Schutt, Tegan McPharlin, Bridget Patterson, Tahlia McGrath, Eliza Doddridge, Shae Daly, Tabatha Saville, Alex Price, Sam Betts, Annie O’Neil, Amanda-Jade Wellington, Stacey Oates, Darcie Brown, Emma De Broughe, Ellie Falconer