'Cool, calm assassin' Wilson to keep pushing Aussie credentials

Tahlia Wilson has been dubbed the ‘cool, calm assassin’ by her New South Wales teammates.

Those unflappable qualities have helped the Breakers wicketkeeper-opener complete a record-breaking season in the Women’s National Cricket League, which saw Wilson crowned the league’s best player of the season on Thursday.

Her demeanour will no doubt also help her push past any disappointment she might feel at being on the other side of a tight Australian selection call this week, as she vows to keep pushing her case for higher honours.

Wilson was narrowly overlooked for next month's T20I tour of New Zealand, with Victoria’s Nicole Faltum instead picked as back-up wicketkeeper to Beth Mooney, with Alyssa Healy unavailable.

Speaking to media on Thursday, Wilson said she had not spoken to national selectors, but would seek advice in the coming weeks around how she could strengthen her chances in the future.

"I haven't actually heard anything around that, but I'm sure over the next few weeks, I will try and get into contact to see what's going on," Wilson said.

"Probably a few months ago now, I was in touch with Shawn Flegler around what my role is and where he sees me going into the future.

"It's definitely all positive. I definitely think the race was tight, and Nic definitely just got the nod over me this time.

"Every time something like that comes out, obviously you want to be the one to be in that position, but at the same time I think Nic's had a pretty good season as well."

Wilson is among a trio of up-and-coming keeper-batters, alongside Faltum – also 25 – and 23-year-old Maddy Darke, jostling to be next in line when a slot eventually opens in the senior Australian side.

It’s something that has not been a serious consideration for more than a decade, with Healy installed behind the stumps and with Mooney as back-up.

Healy’s injury-enforced absence from next month’s T20I tour of New Zealand finally created an opportunity for a reserve, with selectors noting Faltum - who has also been in good touch in the WNCL of late - had got the nod for her breakout WBBL campaign, wicketkeeping and Australia A record. 

With Healy now 34, and Mooney 31, Wilson said she was determined to make sure she remained in the selection frame when the time for longer-term backups or replacements eventually came.

"I remember talking to Alyssa Healy last year and she said, 'You know what? You're actually the prime age. I'm a little bit older than you, so just keep sticking at it and you've probably come around at the right time'," Wilson said.

"I feel like it's awesome that I'm scoring runs now, and that's probably helping me stay on their radar, and hopefully I can continue and you never know, one day hopefully we make it."

The 25-year-old finished comfortably on top of the WNCL runs table in 2024-25, amassing 677 runs at 60.63 including two centuries – the most by a NSW player in a single season and the third most in the competition’s 29-season history.

Wilson's form helped drive NSW’s return to the WNCL final for the first time since 2019-20, setting up a mouth-watering decider against fierce rivals Queensland on Sunday.

Asked what made Wilson such a threat, NSW teammate Anika Learoyd said on Thursday, "We've coined her the term of 'a cool, calm assassin'.

"She's just such a collected player and the way she's able to just go out there and show such composure, even in really high pressure moments is really valuable, not only to Talia, but to our team as a whole." 

Wilson put her red-hot WNCL form down to finding her rhythm in the one-day game, with the emphasis on improving her starts in the Powerplay paying off.

"The mentality has probably been to be a little bit more attacking in the Powerplay and I think that's definitely reaped the reward, not only for me, but for our team as well," she said.

"I know what tempo I can bat at now, and I know if I can bat a long time, naturally I'm going to catch up if for some reason I do start a little bit slower.

"The last couple of games have shown that I've been able to start really strong, hold where I need to if we lose a few wickets, but then be able to motor at the back end and get us to a good total.

"I definitely think that I've started to figure out the tempo for 50-over cricket."

Wilson said the next step was to find the same comfort in her approach to 20-over cricket.

The right-hander thrived in the T20 Spring Challenge when she was opening the batting for Sydney Thunder – a role she has also played in previous WBBL seasons – to be named player of the tournament.

She struggled to translate that for into middle-order success in WBBL|10, however, when she was shuffled down the order below Georgia Voll, Chamari Athapaththu and Phoebe Litchfield, with a top score of 33.

"I probably didn't have the WBBL that I was quite after, my role changed from last year, from batting up the top of the order to going down," Wilson said.

"Batting at the top of the order in one-day cricket versus batting middle-order this year for WBBL, there was a slight shift in how I went about my game, but of late, I've just tried to think about how I can make my 50-over cricket and my T20 cricket as similar as I can, so no matter what format I play or what batting position I'm in, I can be pretty versatile."

Wilson will likely get another press to impress national selectors next month, with a three-day red-ball ‘Green v Gold’ game to be played between Australia’s top domestic players, followed by a multi-format series between Australia A and England A in Sydney.

"I've definitely got my eye on it, so hopefully I've done enough this domestic season to put my hand up for it," she said.

WNCL 2024-25  

Final: Queensland v New South Wales | Allan Border Field | Sunday, March 2 at 2.35pm AEDT (1.35pm AED)

Stream live and free via the CA Live app and cricket.com.au or watch via Kayo Sports