‘Ridiculous’: Holly Ferling’s warning to WBBL rivals

To avoid the deadly virus and the biosecurity restrictions that accompany it, Cricket Australia migrated the entire WBBL competition to Tasmania for its opening three weeks.

The island state had been largely unaffected by the pandemic for 12 months but even in Hobart, Covid-19 found a way to spoil the party.

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After the Tasmanian Government announced a three-day snap lockdown last week, there were genuine concerns the opening weekend of the seventh edition of the WBBL would be postponed.

Speaking from the confinement of her Hobart hotel room over the weekend, Melbourne Renegades recruit and Channel 7 presenter Holly Ferling could only shake her head while reflecting on the chaotic 48 hours.

“Isn’t this wild,” she laughed. “We didn’t even suspect this was even possible.”

Players were uncertain whether the fixtures would go ahead until a decision was made at the eleventh hour to proceed without spectators.

“We were preparing as though we were playing, but we weren’t sure until about 11am that we actually were,” Ferling told news.com.au, speaking as an ambassador for MACROS.

“We just feel really grateful we were able to get on.

“For the most part with Big Bash, you just roll with it. There’s always a few challenges.”

The Renegades got their WBBL campaign off to a perfect start on Saturday, defeating hosts Hobart Hurricanes by six wickets at Blundstone Arena.

Despite having a relatively unknown pace attack, the Renegades boast the most intimidating spin duo in the competition. Australian tweakers Sophie Molineux and Georgia Wareham combined to take 5/25 from their eight overs, rolling through Hobart’s middle-order.

The Melbourne-based club also secured three huge signings in the off-season — powerhouse Indian batters Jemimah Rodrigues and Harmanpreet Kaur, along with England all-rounder Evelyn Jones.

Although the Renegades have never won a WBBL title, Ferling warned the other seven clubs not to underestimate their batting line-up this summer.

“We’ve got such a ridiculous batting line-up,” she said.

“We weren’t too sure what we’d get in Harmanpreet and Jemimah and Evelyn, but geez they’ve slotted in so well. They are just absolute legends.

“Jemimah particularly, she’s such a ball of energy. She’s already pulled out the guitar and sung us a couple of tunes as well, which has been really cool.

“They’re just entertainers and they love their cricket.”

Ferling made her international debut eight years ago, aged 17. The Queenslander was touted as a bowling prodigy in her teenage years, and was rushed through the pathways system to become just the third Australian woman to earn a Baggy Green before their 18th birthday, joining Peggy Antonio and Ellyse Perry on the illustrious list.

She has since represented Australia in three Test matches and 22 ODIs, claiming 32 wickets on the international stage.

Last month, three more Aussie teenagers made their Test debut in the highly-anticipated pink-ball match against India — Annabel Sutherland (19), Stella Campbell (19) and Darcie Brown (18).

“It just shows the depth of the Australian domestic competition,” Ferling said.

“Some of these youngsters coming through, they’ve already played at such a high standard in the WNCL and the WBBL that it’s just a really natural progression for a lot of them to pull on that Baggy Green and rip in.”

Ferling said it was a privilege to be handed an opportunity to prove her worth at Test level at such a young age, but conceded the early introduction had its downsides.

“It creates a lot of expectation, particularly of yourself,” she said.

“I know that I had that challenge … you’re constantly caught up in trying to perform at your peak all the time. I’m a bit of a perfectionist, so I was always just trying to do the right thing.

“But I think one of the key things the Australian team has now is that tagline of ‘evolve’ … the last thing you want to do is keep your game in one place.

“The game has evolved so much over the past few years … teams are already working out how to dismantle Australia’s batting order, bowling attack, so you’ve got to continue to evolve your game and keep pressing ahead.”

Australia’s young pace attack performed commendably in the day-night Test, but were outclassed by India’s more experienced seamers. Brown and Campbell regularly bowled just short of a good length at Metricon Stadium, a strategy seen most commonly in the game’s short formats.

Meanwhile, Indian veteran Jhulan Goswami terrorised Australia’s top order by pitching the ball up and taking advantage of the artificial floodlights.

It’s understandable that Australia’s young debutants struggled to immediately adapt to the challenges of four-day cricket, which remains a rarity for women.

Alyssa Healy and Rachael Haynes have already voiced their desire for some long-format games in the Australian women’s domestic schedule, and Ferling joined the chorus.

“There’s a lot of other girls who are asking for it,” she said.

“How is it that the pinnacle of our sport, we only get one crack at it a summer, if we’re lucky? Let alone two this summer, which is an absolute miracle.

“T20 has obviously been the vehicle for women’s cricket for so long, and the key decision-makers who have made that call have done exceptionally well.

“But I think on average, batters only face 15 balls. If you’re a young batter, you actually don’t get the chance to work on your craft in that game situation, and really get exposed to different scenarios … and likewise with bowlers, how to stay patient for long enough to get those wickets.

“Whether it is that it’s a separate tournament to the WNCL or it adds points towards the WNCL, I think there’s definite scope there for us to do that.”

While competing in the WBBL and WNCL, Ferling has been studying a Bachelor in Communications, majoring in journalism and PR.

She has one assignment remaining in her last university subject, which she hopes to complete during the WBBL.

The 25-year-old has also served as a commentator for Channel 7 and Fox Sports since the broadcasters secured the coveted cricket rights in 2018.

Rarely does a cricketer in the early stages of their professional career have so many commitments to juggle simultaneously, but Ferling relishes every moment.

“It is challenging balancing all of it, but one of the things that we love as female athletes, a lot of us are working athletes when we have to be in order to keep our lives going,” Ferling said.

“Being able to merge something that I’m studying and something that I love in the middle of my career has been really cool. I feel very lucky to be able to do that.”

The Covid-19 pandemic inevitably offered additional challenges for Australia’s cricketers, who were heavily restricted in how they could train for most of 2020.

Ferling credited the ready-made meals of MACROS for helping keep her fuelled during endless lockdowns.

“There’s just so much uncertainty in the world at different points last year, and for me to have something like MACROS that was dietitian approved and that I was getting everything that I needed in my preparation — that put me at ease,” Ferling said.

“It’s a real no-brainer. I’ve got something there that’s quick and easy and going to fuel me as well.”

Since its inception in 2015, the WBBL has quickly developed into the world’s leading tournament for women’s cricket.

Last year it attracted the fourth-highest television audience for domestic sporting competitions in Australia — behind the NRL, AFL and Big Bash League.

A cumulative television average audience of 1.113 million tuned in to the WBBL’s opening weekend on Channel 7 and Foxtel — a 58 per cent increase on the last season’s first five games.

The quality of the cricket has improved drastically over the past six years as well, particularly the batting and fielding.

“The strength of the WBBL has really put people’s names up in lights, not just the Australian domestic players, but also the international players as well,” Ferling said.

“This tournament’s almost got an impact worldwide without even realising it.

“It’s a real showcase of skill. The women’s game has always been very skilful because we haven’t had the power. Now you see strength and conditioning come along and these girls have got power. As a bowler, you’re sitting there going, ‘Please don’t get hit over your head.’

“To see how quickly it’s come along, it’s a massive credit to Cricket Australia, the ACA and the broadcasters as well for actually showing it for what it is, and that’s athletes going about their business and doing a great job of it.”