Reakes returns home after lengthy lay-off

The second she felt the snap, Angela Reakes knew her cricket season was over before it had started.

It was the end of a routine running session just one week out from the first match of the 2019-20 domestic summer, but as the allrounder turned for her final lap, disaster struck.

Most athletes would immediately guess they had torn their achilles – as an exercise physiologist, Reakes also knew exactly what the long road to recovery would entail.

Now, 577 days after her last competitive cricket match, Reakes is champing at the bit for the start of the Rebel WBBL season, where she will make her return to the Sydney Sixers after two years with the Melbourne Stars.

"As I turned it was like a gunshot, like someone kicked me from behind," Reakes told cricket.com.au on Wednesday after her homecoming to the Sixers, where she was part of their back-to-back titles, was confirmed.

"It felt like my foot was no longer attached to my leg.

"Sometimes I wish I didn’t know as much (about injuries) as I do, I definitely knew the second I snapped my achilles I’d be out for nine months … it’s not the best feeling but it does help with your expectations."

Reakes, who originally hailed from Byron Bay and came through the NSW pathway system alongside the likes of Alyssa Healy and Ellyse Perry, made the move to the Stars ahead of WBBL|04, playing all 14 matches that season before spending the entirety of WBBL|05 on the sidelines rehabilitating her repaired achilles.

It gave her a new perspective on the game, she believes, but when the offer came from the Sixers to re-join their squad for the upcoming summer, she leapt at the chance to reunite with former teammates including Healy, Perry, Ashleigh Gardner and Erin Burns.

"I was presented a pretty good opportunity at Melbourne a couple of years ago and at the time the Sixers were very strong and for my own personal gain, it was a move I needed to make," Reakes explained.

"But now I’ve had that experience, and unfortunately after having a year off with the achilles, I thought it would be a good time to go back home to where it all began.

"It was super tough to watch (from the sidelines last season) but it created a good opportunity for me to sit back and watch the game and learn some more things tactically.

"I played 10 years straight without missing a game of cricket so it’s probably only fair I spent some time on the sidelines, and I think it probably has been the best thing for me and my cricket."

With a full preseason under her belt with the ACT Meteors, where she has taken over as captain this season, the 29-year-old feels better prepared than ever.

The Sixers have a star-studded XI featuring four members of Australia’s current limited-overs squad alongside South African stars Marizanne Kapp and Dane van Niekerk.

But in a format where a big impact can be made from a small opportunity, Reakes – who has a reputation as one of the WBBL’s most formidable fielders – is confident she knows how she can get the most out of her game.

"I’ll try and hit some boundaries with the bat and with my passion for fielding, I’ll try and create opportunities in the field," she said.

"There might be an opportunity to bowl some leggies here and there, but with T20 cricket the way it is now … I just want to be as effective and impactful as I possibly can."

Reakes is the fourth signing to be announced by the Sixers this week, after Stella Campbell, Emma Hughes and Jodie Hicks all penned new deals.

Sixers coach Ben Sawyer said he was excited to welcome the allrounder back into the fold.

"We were really happy to see Ange get an increased opportunity by releasing her to play at the Stars a few years ago but we always said we’d welcome her back if she wanted to return," he said.

"Now she’s back we are really glad to see someone in our squad who had such a positive role for us in the first three seasons of the WBBL.

"We can see her playing an ongoing active role this summer. She is one of the best fielders in the competition and will no doubt be strong again for us in that area. She’s also good down the order with the bat and can bowl leggies."

The Sixers have just two spots left to fill in their WBBL|06 squad.

Current Sydney Sixers squad: Ellyse Perryh (c)(Aus), Erin Burns, Stella Campbell, Lauren Cheatle, Maddy Darke, Ashleigh Gardner (Aus), Alyssa Healy (Aus), Jodie Hicks, Emma Hughes, Marizanne Kapp (SA), Angela Reakes, Hayley Silver-Holmes, Dane van Niekerk (SA)