Maiden contract for Darcie Brown; Delissa Kimmince announces retirement

18-year-old Brown is the only change among the contracted players from the last season. She impressed everyone with her ability to bowl quick during the WBBL06 and WNCL 2020-21 before making her debut for Australia in both formats during the recently concluded tour of New Zealand.

“The only change from last year’s contract list is the inclusion of Darcie Brown for Delissa Kimmince, who has decided to retire from the game,” Shawn Flegler, CA’s female high-performance manager and national selector said.

“Darcie is an incredibly exciting fast-bowling talent, as we saw on the recent T20I and ODI tour of New Zealand, and she has consistently been the fastest bowler in the country as shown by our testing around the states. She’s had tremendous raw pace throughout the junior ranks and we think she has the potential to form an excellent new ball partnership with Tayla Vlaeminck for many years to come.

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31-year-old Kimmince played 16 ODIs and 44 T20Is for Australia after making her debut against New Zealand in an ODI in 2008. She took 14 wickets in ODIs at an average of 29.42 including a five-wicket haul and in T20Is, she finished with 45 wickets to her name at an average of 21.08 and an economy rate of 6.73. She last played for Australia during the home series against New Zealand in September 2020 and wasn’t part of the squad during the New Zealand tour as she decided to opt out of it. Kimmince has been part of Australia’s three T20 World Cup triumphs in 2014, 2018 and 2020.

“DK (Kimmince) should be incredibly proud of her contribution to Australian cricket. She made her international debut at the very young age of 18, took a break from the game and returned to make a huge contribution at all levels. During that time, she developed from a raw fast bowler into a genuine all-rounder and has been regarded as one of the best fielders in the world. She’s a been a wonderful teammate and an important member of our Ashes- and T20 World Cup-winning squads and we thank her for her outstanding service to the game,” Flegler added.

Annabel Sutherland, who received her maiden contract last year, also retained her contract with fellow allrounder Tahlia McGrath. Hannah Darlington, who was part of the squad in New Zealand, is yet to make her debut and hasn’t been named in the contracted players.



Australia contracted players: Darcie Brown, Nicola Carey, Ashleigh Gardner, Rachael Haynes, Alyssa Healy, Jess Jonassen, Meg Lanning, Tahlia McGrath, Sophie Molineux, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Annabel Sutherland, Tayla Vlaeminck, Georgia Wareham