Cooke finds the perfect recipe after defying the odds

A little more than 15 months ago Zoe Cooke's surgeon advised her to start thinking about a different career.

The ACT Meteors fast bowler had undergone back surgery on a bulging disc and was facing a five-month rehabilitation to get back onto the field.

That 'advice' proved all the motivation Cooke needed, and her determination to prove the surgeon wrong drove her all the way to a Brisbane Heat contract.

The 26-year-old was added to the Heat list ahead of Weber WBBL|07, her second opportunity in the world's best women's T20 domestic league after a year spent on the sidelines with the Melbourne Renegades in WBBL|04.

So far, the Heat's strong crop of pace bowlers including Georgia Prestwidge, Courtney Sippel, Nicola Hancock and Nadine de Klerk has meant Cooke is yet to break into the Heat starting XI. 

But with the side locked in for the finals, Cooke will be ready and waiting to continue proving the doubters wrong if she is called upon at the business end of the season.

"I had a bulging disc," Cooke told cricket.com.au last month. "They shaved off the bulge that was pushing on the nerves, they went inside the disc and cleaned out any loose fragments that might bulge again later on.

"I think most people would've written me off to play … my neurosurgeon told me that I should probably look at getting a new career.

"That's the thing that drove me the most to get back into playing – I wanted to prove the neurosurgeon wrong."

With her immovable goal of returning to elite cricket on her mind, Cooke then embarked on a five-month rehabilitation process.

"I had the surgery in August and was cleared to play a week before our first WNCL game. 

"The first six weeks was just walking three times a day for five minutes, so it wasn't long. 

"Once I got the all-clear for that, I was able to get back into the gym, do upper body and simple leg stuff. 

"After 12 weeks, I got the clearance to start running again on a zero-gravity treadmill, and then slowly worked my way back into actually running."

Cooke recovered to return for the ACT Meteors in early February, playing five matches and picking up four wickets for the season.

It was a relief for the right-armer, who was first offered a contract by the Meteors as a 15-year-old rookie and who went on to take out the ACT Women’s Player of the Year Award in four consecutive seasons.

Despite her strong record in ACT cricket, Cooke has struggled for opportunities in the WBBL, but her efforts last season were enough to catch the eye of Brisbane Heat coach Ash Noffke, who offered Cooke a WBBL contract, her first since she was on Renegades' list three years ago.

The chance to work with Heat bowling coach Scott Prestwidge was a particular highlight, as well as playing with another Meteor in Hancock.

"I didn't really think that was going to happen, so getting a call from Ash to say he was going to offer me a contract was pretty awesome," she said.

Despite her determination to continue playing, Cooke is not flippant about the ongoing risks that come with her high-risk role.

"I'm literally doing the worst thing I possibly could for my back, being a fast bowler," she noted.

"There's a five per cent chance that it can happen again and when you think about it, five per cent doesn't sound much, but when you think I might go through the same thing again, it's actually a pretty big chance and I don't want to do that again.

"I'm just trying to keep on top of doing all the simple rehab stuff again, making sure that I don't do anything silly, like ignore the fact that I might be tired and sore – I've actually got to listen to my body now."

Cooke spent the winter in Canberra working with ACT Meteors coach Mick Delaney to re-work her action, giving herself the best possible chance of avoiding a recurrence of the injury.

It is not a guarantee, but through those months of work she regained confidence in her body.

"It was very difficult to start with, every ball I'd run in and bowl I was really worried that something would happen," she continued.

"We changed my action a little bit so it's not as bad and I'm not twisting my back as much, and I'm actually using my legs.

"That confidence from changing my action has been awesome."