Maitlan Brown is a chance to step into Australia's national team once Megan Schutt retires – but if history has taught her anything, it's to not think about it
Sixers quick won't let history repeat in national bid
Sydney Sixers quick Maitlan Brown has revealed how focusing on earning an Australian debut left her "deteriorated", vowing not to let history repeat after a big start to this summer.
Brown is one of several quicks on the precipice of Australia's squad ahead of a transitional period, with pace leader Megan Schutt flagging a likely 2026 retirement date.
An Australian squad member back in 2020 and 2021, Brown, now 28, believes she is now bowling her best with a clearer mind.
The Sixers quick has the second-best economy rate in the WBBL this season with 4.76, was joint player of the Spring Challenge and Australia A's best bowler in the red-ball game against India last year.
But Brown won't let thoughts of a return to the Australian squad and potential debut linger on her mind, after putting a heavier emphasis on sports psychology.
"One thing that I think about a lot is, is your brain is like a battery," Brown, whose Sixers will face Melbourne Stars at North Sydney Oval on Thursday, said.
"And I think I'm just trying to be mindful of like what I'm giving energy to. And a lot of that stuff is the controllables.
"At the end of the day, you can't tell the selectors what to do.
"I want to stay ready, because if I do get the phone call, that would be really exciting. But if I focus on it too much, then it's really going to take away with what I'm doing."
Brown admitted that had been something she had been guilty of in the past while in Australian camps.
"I deteriorated," she said.
"I would go to Aussie camp or something, and I would see one of the selectors watching, and then I would think about like, 'Oh my gosh, like I have to be on here'.
"I wouldn't actually be focusing on bowling, and I would bowl pretty bad.
"And then I would kind of get caught up in myself, 'Oh no, like they're looking, they're watching me, eyes on me'.
"I focused on it a whole lot, and it really made me lose sight of what I was doing."
Beyond Brown, Georgia Prestwidge, Tess Flintoff, Hannah Darlington, Lauren Cheatle, Milly Illingworth, Lucy Hamilton and Chloe Ainsworth are also on the fringe or considered rising options.
But selection thoughts aside, Brown said the sports psychology approach had also helped her bowling.
"One of the things that I really hit with me was not limiting myself or trying to go back to a different, past version of myself," Brown said.
"And actually just going, 'Hey, why can't I just be the best I've ever been', and actually having that as a focus."
Weber WBBL|11 Standings
| Team | M | W | L | T | N/R | NRR | Ded. | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1
HUR
|
10 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0.662 | 0 | 15 |
|
2
SIX
|
10 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 1 | -0.313 | 0 | 13 |
|
3
SCO
|
10 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 0 | -0.132 | 0 | 12 |
|
4
STA
|
10 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0.629 | 0 | 11 |
|
5
REN
|
10 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0.121 | 0 | 10 |
|
6
STR
|
10 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0.077 | 0 | 9 |
|
7
THU
|
10 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 1 | -0.124 | 0 | 9 |
|
8
HEA
|
10 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 1 | -0.869 | 0 | 1 |
M: Matches played
W: Wins
L: Losses
T: Ties
N/R: No results
NRR: Net Run Rate
Ded.: Deductions
PTS: Total points