Ines McKeon has played international cricket for France and is now among a host of young players making their mark on WBBL|10
Teen phenom McKeon brings fearless flair to Stars' top order
Not many people can claim that before their 18th birthday, they had played senior cricket for France, underage cricket for Australia, opened the batting in the Weber WBBL – and scored a half-century on Big Bash debut to boot.
Melbourne Stars opener Ines McKeon, at age 17, has done exactly that.
The right-handed batter hails from Perth and debuted for Western Australia last summer, and it was her performances for Australia's Under-19s during a tri-series in September that caught the attention of the Stars, who offered the teenager a two-year deal.
It was a simple decision for McKeon to pack her bags and relocate to Melbourne for the duration of the Big Bash, eager to soak up the chance to play and train alongside the likes of Meg Lanning and Annabel Sutherland.
But it still came as something of a surprise to the teenager when she was informed she would not only be debuting in their season opener at the WACA Ground, but she would also be opening the batting alongside Lanning.
Facing up to her state teammates in the Scorchers, McKeon embraced the license she had been given by captain Sutherland and coach Jon Batty to play her natural brand of attacking cricket.
Her first runs in the competition came when she hit Australia leg-spinner Alana King for six from the second ball she faced, and she finished with 50 from 43 deliveries, including a second massive six off King.
"I wasn't expecting to play, to be honest," McKeon told cricket.com.au.
"I was just expecting to be on the bench, warming it up, and I would have taken that either way, but I'm very grateful for this opportunity.
"I was actually very calm, just taking it in as it goes, and just enjoying the ride.
"I just raised it and I'm like, 'oh my god', because I didn't realise I made it to 50 until all the clapping started happening.
"I was just wanting to play how I play and my game and be myself ... when I'm true to myself and know where I'm at and try not to fade into someone else that I'm not (is when I play best).
"So I'm definitely staying true to myself."
Facing up to the new ball against some of the world's best bowlers would be daunting for anyone, but McKeon has appeared unflappable in her three matches to date.
Part of that might be the experience she already has playing cricket in unfamiliar environments.
At 16, she followed in the footsteps of her older brother Gustav – who has two T20I hundreds to his name – when she was selected to play for France.
McKeon was born and raised in Australia, but she holds a French passport and is eligible to represent the country of her mother's birth.
She made her T20 International debut against Austria in May 2023, then hit her first half-century later the same month, hammering 94 off 65 balls against Sweden in the ICC's Europe Division 2 T20 World Cup qualifying tournament in Jersey.
When France advanced to the Division 1 qualifier staged in Spain in September last year, McKeon hit another half-century – this time a 40-ball 56 against one of the tournament's top-ranked teams in Scotland, who went on to take out the tournament and qualify for the ICC tournament that was staged in Dubai last month.
"That was a really good experience, seeing different cultures and environments," McKeon said.
"We're very fortunate to have the club facilities (we do in Australia) and in Europe, people don't know what cricket is, so it's very different."
With 16 T20Is under her belt, McKeon returned home to make her Women's National Cricket League debut for Western Australia in January, and was subsequently selected in the Australian Under-19 squad that toured Sri Lanka in April, then hosted Sri Lanka and New Zealand in September.
She was Australia's leading run-scorer in both the T20 and 50-over legs of that most recent tri-series, and with the next ICC Under-19 Women's World Cup to be held in Malaysia in January, McKeon said it would be awesome to be part of the Australian touring party for that tournament.
She is among a brace of players eligible for that tournament who are on WBBL lists this season, and one of several currently making a significant impact on the competition, alongside fellow Western Australian Chloe Ainsworth and 15-year-old Caoimhe Bray.
"Another opportunity to wear the gold and green and represent my country, it'd be awesome," she said.
"It's definitely (a case of) the more you play, the more you grow.
"You're just trying to learn as much as possible, and trying to keep developing as much as you can, and just grabbing every opportunity as you can."
| Team | M | W | L | T | N/R | NRR | Ded. | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1
REN
|
10 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0.527 | 0 | 14 |
|
2
THU
|
10 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 1 | -0.002 | 0 | 13 |
|
3
HEA
|
9 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0.276 | 0 | 12 |
|
4
HUR
|
10 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0.189 | 0 | 10 |
|
5
SCO
|
10 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 0 | -0.171 | 0 | 9 |
|
6
SIX
|
9 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 1 | -0.367 | 0 | 8 |
|
7
STR
|
10 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 1 | -0.357 | 0 | 7 |
|
8
STA
|
10 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 1 | -0.205 | 0 | 5 |
M: Matches played
W: Wins
L: Losses
T: Ties
N/R: No results
NRR: Net Run Rate
Ded.: Deductions
PTS: Total points