Hurricanes skipper Nicola Carey welcomed her first child, then turned out one of her best all-round career performances all on the same day
Heather Graham will take the captaincy reins for the Hurricanes when they meet the Heat in Brisbane on Saturday night, as Nicola Carey remains in Hobart following the arrival of her first child.
Carey and partner Elyse Villani welcomed their son Louis James Villani-Carey on Wednesday, with the allrounder heading from the hospital to Ninja Stadium and turning out one of her best ever all-round games for the Hurricanes later the same day.
Carey, who took over the Hobart captaincy following former Australia batter Villani’s retirement from the WBBL at the end of last season, smashed a 43-ball 62 before taking 2-30 with the ball against the Renegades.
The Australia allrounder almost sealed a perfect day by defending seven off the final over to take the game to a Super Over, only for a line-ball call and a rare rule gave the Renegades victory when wicketkeeper Lizelle Lee was found to have taken the final ball of the match in front of the stumps.
Speaking at Hobart Airport ahead of her 150th WBBL game, Hurricanes spinner Lauren Smith said the club was thrilled for their current and former skippers.
“Wednesday was obviously a really big day for Nic,” Smith said. “We all supported her as much as we can and having that relief that the baby came healthy and safe – that night she just let her hair down and played with freedom and we were all stoked she got runs on the board for us then bowled the house down.
“She must be feeling good off the field, which is amazing. She’s been taking this captaincy role with two hands and a lot of us girls are loving her captaincy role and the way she takes the game on is amazing.”
The Hurricanes, who are 0-3 in their title defence, will be led by Graham against the Heat this weekend before the squad returns home for matches against the Strikers (November 10) and a return game against the Heat (November 14) at Ninja Stadium.
Ahead of the season, Carey said she was embracing the whirlwind of a tournament that promised to be unlike any other.
“There is a bit (going on), I’m not going to lie, I’ve been a little bit overwhelmed at times thinking about the schedule,” Carey said ahead of the Hurricanes’ opening game.
“But I knew when the baby was going to be born, and I was aware of all of that and the scheduling when I took the (captaincy) role.
“Jude Coleman and the coaching staff and the organisation have been really good and really supportive, and so have the girls as well.”
While captaincy is not a role the 33-year-old had held previously at this level, she had a front row view of life as a Big Bash skipper during Villani’s four-year tenure at the Hurricanes, and more recently added the vice-captaincy to her own resume.
“I was vice-captain last year, and I was privy to a lot of the chats and conversations around it and I got to see firsthand what the job involves,” Carey continued.
“We’re also really different people and that worked well together (last season) … we complemented each other.
“Whenever I’m panicking about something … she’s quite a calming influence, and almost like a mentor in that space. She’d done it for so long and did a really good job, so I definitely learnt heaps off her, which hopefully I can take a little bit of that into this.
“I haven’t done a lot of (captaincy), so I don’t have a heap of experience in it, but I thought, why not try and give it a crack … I think I can offer a little bit to this group and hopefully help some of the players in this group.”
Weber WBBL|12 Standings
Round 1
Team
Matches played
M
Wins
W
Losses
L
Ties
T
Drawn
D
No results
N/R
Net Run Rate
NRR
Deductions
Ded.
Batting Bonus
Bat
Bowling Bonus
Bowl
Total points
PTS
1
Sydney Sixers Women
SIX
3
3
0
0
0
0
1.517
0
0
0
6
2
Perth Scorchers Women
SCO
3
3
0
0
0
0
1.468
0
0
0
6
3
Sydney Thunder Women
THU
3
2
1
0
0
0
0.739
0
0
0
4
4
Adelaide Strikers Women
STR
2
1
1
0
0
0
0.175
0
0
0
2
5
Melbourne Stars Women
STA
4
1
3
0
0
0
-0.237
0
0
0
2
6
Brisbane Heat Women
HEA
3
1
2
0
0
0
-0.347
0
0
0
2
7
Melbourne Renegades Women
REN
3
1
2
0
0
0
-1.385
0
0
0
2
8
Hobart Hurricanes Women
HUR
3
0
3
0
0
0
-1.792
0
0
0
0
Legend
M: Matches played
W: Wins
L: Losses
T: Ties
D: Drawn
N/R: No results
NRR: Net Run Rate
Ded.: Deductions
Bat: Batting Bonus
Bowl: Bowling Bonus
PTS: Total points