Darlington eyes the one-day game as her next evolution

Translating her success with the ball in T20 cricket to the one-day game looms as the next big challenge for young quick Hannah Darlington.

Fresh off her first preseason as a New South Wales-contracted player, Darlington is set to play just her fourth 50-over domestic match when the Breakers travel to Victoria for back-to-back fixtures next week.

Darlington has quickly forged a reputation as one of the country's brightest talents in the 20-over game, winning the Rebel WBBL|05 Young Gun award before being named in this summer's official Team of the Tournament just 12 months later.

That recent campaign as part of the Sydney Thunder's championship winning side, where she took 19 wickets at 13.68 with an economy rate of 6.19 to finish second on the overall league wickets table, saw Darlington named the Betty Wilson Young Cricketer of the Year in today's round of announcements for the Australian Cricket Awards.

"It was a nice surprise to get the call about the award," Darlington told cricket.com.au.

"I was really surprised and quite excited, looking at some of the young players going around the country at the moment and at the nominees, I didn't think I was a shot.

"So it's nice to know my peers, not only my teammates but opponents, are recognising some performances."

While Darlington has played two full WBBL seasons, the 50-over game is less familiar.

She made her Breakers debut last summer, playing three matches, before earning her first state contract.

During an extended preseason – thanks to multiple delays to the start of the WNCL due to border closures – the 19-year-old worked with coach Dominic Thornely and assistant Ben Sawyer to work out how to employ the best aspects of her T20 game – including that yorker – to the one-day format.

"I've been itching to play 50 over cricket, I feel like I've just been in T20 mode, so I'm stoked," Darlington said.

"For me 50-over cricket is a little bit new, I've grown up in that T20 era so I've been working with coaches about how I can best perform in 50-over cricket.

"It's weird not having to bowl a different ball every ball and just learning some patience is the biggest thing.

"You're allowed to give yourself a chance to work the batters over.

"The main part of my role will be taking the ball in those last ten overs, but my first spell will be a new experience in those middle overs, and then playing a role in the middle with the bat as well."

Darlington, who is part of a strong crop of NSW quicks alongside young guns Stella Campbell, Lauren Cheatle, Hayley Silver-Holmes and the experienced Sammy-Jo Johnson, will have her skills put to the test should she takes the field in NSW's season opener in Melbourne next Wednesday.

Victoria's batting line-up including Australia captain Meg Lanning, allrounders Ellyse Perry and Sophie Molineux, and former international opener Elyse Villani.

"I think the team is looking good from a match-up point of view – you look at the Vics and they're the strongest team on paper, but at the end of the day both teams have got to go out and perform," Darlington said.

"It's not reading into the names of the players, but knowing we're (going to be playing) some tight and crucial games.

"It's nice to have them first up and it'll show us where we are at for the season."

Darlington joins elite company as a winner of the Betty Wilson award; three of the previous four winners – Molineux, Georgia Wareham and Tayla Vlaeminck – currently hold Cricket Australia contracts.

To be eligible for this year's Betty Wilson Young Cricketer of the Year Award, players had to be aged under 24 and have played 25 or fewer WNCL, WBBL or international matches at the start of the voting period, which ran between December 11, 2019 and December 09, 2020.