Brown's 3000 steps that led to the T20 World Cup

30 Sep 2024 Laura Jolly, in Dubai

A challenging rehabilitation has paid off for Darcie Brown as she prepares for the T20 World Cup in the UAE alongside her Australian teammates

Even walking the dog was off the table for Darcie Brown through much of a frustrating off-season, but the quick is now fit and confident technical changes have her poised to make an impact for Australia this summer.

In March, Brown was diagnosed with a stress injury to the navicular bone in her left foot, the front foot in her bowling action, throwing a spanner in her off-season plans.

Australia seal warm-up win over England amid injury concerns

It was a lucky catch for both the right-arm quick and the Australian team – Brown had experienced no symptoms, and the injury was picked up during a scan on a sore ankle.

Given the risks around serious navicular injuries – the likes of which kept Tayla Vlaeminck on the sidelines for years – Brown was ordered to stay off her feet and allow her foot time to heal ahead of a packed 2024-25 schedule.

"It was weird because it's actually never been sore ... my heel was sore, but the heel was fine, and then they saw (the navicular injury) so we're very lucky we caught it early, and hopefully we prevented worse things in the future," Brown told cricket.com.au ahead of the tour.

Brown’s rehabilitation program meant staying off her feet as much as possible early on, when she was limited to taking just 3000 steps a day, and later 5000.

Every playing kit at the T20 World Cup

But it was worth it, with the 21-year-old returning taking her place in Australia’s squad for what will be her second T20I World Cup.

"It's been a weird off-season in terms of that, it was really strange, and probably the toughest little patch I’ve had, not being able to do a whole lot in our time off.

"But because it was our time off (at least) I didn't end up missing too much cricket.

"Just taking the dog for a walk was impossible, so I'd drive her to the park, and I'd lay down, and I'd actually fall asleep sometimes, because I wasn't allowed to walk anywhere.

"I was allowed 3000 steps for a big period, and then 5000 for another big period.

"All in all, it's gotten my foot right and hopefully set me up for the future."

Being able to lean on Vlaeminck (figuratively speaking) was an invaluable source of support for the South Australian throughout the winter.

"We get on like a house on fire, so she's been there to talk me through it, and we've messaged each other a lot during that period," Brown continued.

"She's checking in on me, because she obviously knows how hard it is. But going forward, it's been really nice to be back out there with the girls and getting into it."

Since beginning a delayed pre-season, Brown built back up to a return in the second T20I against New Zealand in Mackay last month.

As well as increasing her bowling loads, the South Australian was also continuing work on some technical tweaks to her action which she hopes will increase her pace and accuracy this summer.

Uncovered part one: On the island with the Aussie women's team

Brown sent down three overs during Sunday’s T20 World Cup warm-up game against England on Sunday, claiming the wicket of opener Maia Bouchier and finishing with figures of 0-18.

"I had a few issues with my wrist position for a fair while over the last six or 12 months," she explained.

"The wrist is a really tricky thing to move around and it's quite hard to think about that while you're bowling (and) there’s a few bigger movements that we've noticed with my feet alignment and my front arm as well.

"So, it’s just trying to get that all to work together and hopefully fix everything that's going on ... which has worked, and now it's about getting consistent at that again.

"That will happen the more trainings I bowl in, and more games I play ... and I'm feeling a lot more confident in my bowling now, which is good."

Uncovered part two: On the island with the Aussie women's team

Australia will meet West Indies in their second and final warm-up game on Tuesday evening.

Continuing to adjust to United Arab Emirates conditions will be paramount, Brown said, with Australia eager to learn as much as possible ahead of their opening World Cup game against Sri Lanka on Saturday.

For Brown and Adelaide Strikers teammates Tahlia McGrath and Megan Schutt it is also a chance to go toe-to-toe with Deandra Dottin, who was part of their WBBL|08 title win and who has come out of international retirement ahead of this tournament.

"She's an absolute powerhouse so it's pretty cool to see her back," Brown said.

"We chatted to her briefly at the breakfast a couple days ago, so it was good to catch up with her and she's been one of the best allrounders in the world for a long time ... so it's a great challenge for us."

2024 ICC Women's T20 World Cup

Brown's 3000 steps that led to the T20 World Cup

2024 ICC Women's T20 World Cup

Warm-up matches

Australia's Group A fixtures

Finals