Victress: Corinne Hall's celebration of female athletes

In accepting one of her gongs at the recent Australian Cricket Awards, Alyssa Healy offered her congratulations to Corinne Hall, winner of the Community Champion Award, telling the packed ballroom that Hall 'epitomises what women's cricket in Australia is all about.'

Thirty-two-year-old Hall, a much-loved character within the WBBL, has added the tag 'published illustrator' to sit alongside her title as captain of the Hobart Hurricanes after her commemorative handbook Victress: Women who paved the way in Australian sport, went on sale this month.

Titled Victress, explained by Hall as a "play on success, combining victory and goddess," the handbook features 35 illustrations of athletes who she admires and believes have played a role in elevating women's sport in Australia to the status it enjoys today.

Olympic Gold medallists Dawn Fraser and Cathy Freeman feature, plus current household names in Ash Barty and Samantha Kerr, as well as cricket's own Belinda Clark, Lisa Sthaleker, Ellyse Perry and Meg Lanning.

Image Id: 227551C303D94B899FC1876D3F068BE7 Image Caption: Hall's illustration of Australian track legend Cathy Freeman

Authored by Herald Sun journalist Michael Randall, the book articulates what makes these female athletes so inspiring, and the moment Hall drew inspiration from them.

Each of the 35 athletes have also penned an explanation of what 'kindness' means to them.

Hall, who has played for the Hobart Hurricanes since the WBBL's inception in 2015, has used drawing as a means of an escape from the intensity of professional cricket for as long as she can remember.

"It's the only time I can switch off my brain completely and really immerse myself in what I'm doing," Hall told cricket.com.au ahead of the launch of Victress.

"Over the last few years, I've used it with cricket in particular. It's a very self-critiquing kind of sport. As much as you might want to, you can't escape the data and statistics.

"It's nice to have something that I know can take my mind completely away from cricket."

Image Id: D78944DC8A664A608F3295AC09FD1974 Image Caption: Hall's illustration of Lisa Sthalekar

The concept of Victress was born from a particularly lean patch for the Hurricanes in WBBL|04 and nursed into existence by Sthalekar, Australian cricket legend and one of Hall's best friends.

"I guess I was having pity party for myself. But then my thinking just completely shifted, I just remember thinking how lucky I was to wake up each morning and play the sport I love as my job. 

"I normally draw a lot during Big Bash, but I just picked up the pen and paper and started drawing Dawn Fraser.

"I shared it with on my best friends, Lisa Sthalekar. Usually she critiques my work and gives me some feedback, but she said, 'this is a cool idea, you should do it throughout Big Bash'."

And so the seed was planted. Together, Hall and Sthalekar compiled a list of a hundred athletes they admired, and Hall got drawing.

Reflecting on the finished product, which is being officially launched on Thursday by Cricket Australia and Commonwealth Bank ahead of the ICC Women's T20 World Cup, Hall says she changes her mind around which drawing is her favourite, but struggles to go past her first drawing.

"The Dawn Fraser one for me, captured the whole essence of the book as a celebration of these women.

"I feel like she, in the greatest respect of the word, is sort of the grandmother of Australian female sport."

Image Id: EAC7008C023F467FAE26EEF2ACEA8F84 Image Caption: Hall's illustration of champion Australian swimmer Dawn Fraser

And while she draws a great sense of pride from the drawings, it was the process of approaching some of Australia's finest athletes and extracting what they define kindness to be, that Hall enjoyed most. 

"I obviously admire these people from afar, I don't know them at all so I thought they might be a bit thrown by this 'Joe Blow' person from Tasmania getting in contact, but the response was so gracious.

"Someone like Anna Meares was surprised to be included, I was like 'do you even know what you've done?!'''

"They're so willing to celebrate female sport as well and again, celebrate the other people in the book, so yeah that was beautiful."

"Leisel Jones mentioned that to be kind to others you have to first be kind to yourself.

"Liz Ellis tries to role model kindness for her kids. It might be something as simple as writing a little note in her kids' lunchbox that they'll read at lunch time. 

"There were so many interesting ones, and I think that just captures the heart of the whole book."

Funds raised from the book will also help support grassroots women's cricket and will go towards The Kindness Factory – founded by former NSW cricketer, Kath Koschel – and the charity's educational programs.

Victress will be available at book retailers next month.

2020 ICC Women's T20 World Cup

Australia squad: Meg Lanning (c), Rachael Haynes (vc), Erin Burns, Nicola Carey, Ashleigh Gardner, Alyssa Healy (wk), Jess Jonassen, Delissa Kimmince, Sophie Molineux, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Annabel Sutherland, Tayla Vlaeminck, Georgia Wareham

February 21:Australia v India, Sydney Showgrounds

February 24: Australia v Sri Lanka, WACA Ground

February 27: Australia v Bangladesh, Manuka Oval 

March 2: Australia v New Zealand, Junction Oval

March 5: Semi-final 1 & Semi-final 2, SCG

March 8: Final, MCG

For a full list of all World Cup fixtures, click HERE

* All matches will be broadcast on Fox Cricket and Kayo, while Australia’s matches will also be broadcast on the Nine Network