Australia's young fast-bowling star has taken some important steps in her development over the past 12 months
Brown takes key step as new-ball weapon
Darcie Brown has always had serious pace on her side, but the teenage fast bowler’s growth in another area of her game is only enhancing her reputation as a new-ball weapon.
Brown played her first game of the ongoing T20I in India on Wednesday after missing the opening two matches following a bout of illness.
Her opening over did not go to plan, as the 19-year-old sent down five wides – including one wayward delivery that eluded Alyssa Healy and went to the boundary – but she responded in style, with just 10 runs coming off her next three overs as she removed India stars Smriti Mandhana and Jemimah Rodrigues.
She finished with figures of 2-19, with those early blows combined with dot ball pressure during the middle overs – she also thought she removed Shafali Verma, but the delivery was found to be a front-foot no ball – crucial in Australia’s fighting 21-run win.
"It's hard when you've been on the sidelines for the first couple of games and haven't bowled in these conditions since we've been here, so (that response was) super from Darce," Ellyse Perry said following the match.
"She's just such a weapon for us and a point of difference with her pace and she just has an amazing knack of picking up wickets … even in her fourth over where unfortunately it was a front-foot ball but I thought even that just swung the momentum back for us."
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Reflecting on Brown’s development across three seasons in the Weber WBBL and two years at international level, teammate Tahlia McGrath pointed to her increased cricket smarts as the latest step forward in the 19-year-old’s game.
"She's bowling really well, she's bowling quick and her game just keeps getting better and better every year," McGrath, Brown’s captain at Adelaide Strikers, told cricket.com.au.
"Let's just say when Darce used to have the ball in her hand … when Schutter (Megan Schutt) was Strikers captain, Schutter would construct her over, and when I was captain last year I was sort of telling her what to do.
"But now she commands it and owns it and she's grown a lot in that space.
"She's tactically a lot better, she’s trusting her back-of-the-hand slower ball a lot more and she knows when to use that bouncer, so she's come a long way in growing and maturing as a cricketer."
Brown arrived in India fresh off helping Adelaide Strikers claim their first Weber WBBL title.
While the right-armer was not as prolific on the wicket table this season – capturing 16 wickets to be 13th on the overall, compared to her third-placed finish with 20 in WBBL|07 – the pressure she created was a crucial part of the Strikers’ success.
Just under 50 per cent of her deliveries were dot balls, and new-ball partner and Aussie teammate Megan Schutt reaped the rewards at the other end, ending the season with 27 scalps.
"She does what she does best, and that's bowling fast," Schutt said after the WBBL final.
"This year, she's actually taking it to another level in terms of her cricket smarts.
"She's always needed a bit of guidance for that, but this year, she's really learnt that herself and evolved her career ... and finally for once we got to swap and I got to take more of the wickets.
"So that's been nice for me, but I think as a pair, we work well together (for Adelaide and) in the Aussie XI."
Australia's T20I tour of India
1st T20I: Australia won by 9 wickets
2nd T20I: Match tied (India won the Super Over)
3rd T20I: Australia won by 21 runs
4th T20I: December 17, Brabourne Stadium, Mumbai (Dec 18, 12.30am AEDT)
5th T20I: December 20, Brabourne Stadium, Mumbai (Dec 21, 12.30am AEDT)
Australia squad: Alyssa Healy (c), Tahlia McGrath (vc), Darcie Brown, Nicola Carey, Ashleigh Gardner, Kim Garth, Heather Graham, Grace Harris, Alana King, Phoebe Litchfield, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Annabel Sutherland, Amanda-Jade Wellington
India squad: Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Smriti Mandhana (vc), Shafali Verma, Yastika Bhatia, Jemimah Rodrigues, Deepti Sharma, Radha Yadav, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Renuka Singh Thakur, Meghna Singh, Anjali Sarvani, Devika Vaidya, S Meghana, Richa Ghosh, Harleen Deol