The mindset shift that turned Brown into a 'nasty fasty'

Maitlan Brown was standing at the top of her mark at North Sydney Oval in the 19th over of the final game of the WBBL|11 regular season, with her Sixers under immense pressure.

Bridget Patterson and Amanda-Jade Wellington had the Strikers flying home with a wet sail and the stakes could not be higher – win and finish second, lose and miss finals all together.

Having been hit for two boundaries earlier in the over, Brown knew the Adelaide batters had cottoned onto her plan to bowl slow and wide.

Feeling calm and calculated, she feigned running into bowl to Wellington, eager to gauge her premeditated movements before pulling up short.

It prompted a query from Patterson at the non-strikers, but Brown was giving her nothing.

"I was just full tunnel vision, in the zone – I was just feeling like a pure nasty fasty," Brown recalled when speaking to The Surge podcast this week.

"There was definitely this calmness and clarity during that over and that's definitely what helped.

"I remember running in, not bowling it, just sussing the vibe.

"I feel like something's come over me this season, I've just really dialled in and I've just got no distractions.

"In a moment like that, having clarity is so crucial to execute under pressure."

You would be hard pressed to find a cricketer in Australia or globally who would describe the naturally warm and bubbly Brown as "nasty".

"Fasty" however sums up her outstanding WBBL|11 campaign, where she's grasped the role of leading the Sixers' pace attack alongside Lauren Cheatle with both hands, clocking the fastest speeds of any Australian quick.

It has been a dramatic turnaround from Brown's 2024 WBBL season, were injury setbacks meant she missed the first game of the tournament and once she did return, was not called upon to bowl at any point.

"It was so cool to be given an opportunity like that to bowl in such a pressure moment (against the Strikers), off the back of last year, not being able to contribute as much to now really being one of the key bowlers for our team," Brown said.

"It's just an awesome opportunity and I'm really relishing it."

Brown's frustrations with her 2024-25 season stemmed from a calf injury suffered during the opening round of the WNCL in September, and which lingered into WBBL|10.

Even when fit, she was behind the eight ball when it came to getting an opportunity with the ball in a stacked Sixers pace attack.

It led to some heart-felt discussions with key NSW and Sixers figures in the off-season, including new Breakers coach – and former Australian women's team psychologist – Pete Clarke, and ultimately a whole new mindset heading into the 2025-26 pre-season.

"(After) really struggling last year with injury, it was really disruptive and if I'm being honest, I didn't have any self-belief or confidence," Brown said.

"I got to the end of the season and really reflected on that, and had some really crucial conversations with Pete Clarke, our Breakers coach and Sixers assistant coach.

"He just said, 'Well, why don't you just try to be the best cricketer you've ever been? Why are you limiting yourself to getting back to where you were, or trying to become a past version of yourself?'

"And for me, it was a bit of a lightbulb moment ... it actually really helped me draw a line under last year and I went into this preseason in particular with a lot of clarity and goals.

"And one of the goals was to bowl as fast as I can."

To achieve that goal, Brown tapped into every available resource Cricket NSW had to offer – the strength and conditioning coach, nutritionist and sports psych all had a role to play in helping the 28-year-old hit new heights on the speed gun.

Learning how to manage the fear of suffering another injury was also part of the process, alongside optimising her time in the nets.

"We tracked all of my run up speeds, all my bowling speeds and it gave me an indication of trends and what intensity I needed to be running in at, and it also kept me really accountable to maintaining a certain quality throughout my whole training session," Brown explained.

"Being able to challenge myself in maintaining those ball speeds for a whole session sets a standard of intensity, and the way you train is the way you play."

When cricket.com.au checked in with Brown in August, she was buzzing with anticipation for a stint with Australia A and to unleash her newfound pace on the domestic summer.

In WBBL|11, she's taken 11 wickets at 24 to be the leading Sixers' quick alongside Cheatle, who has also claimed 11 scalps, and her economy rate of 7.47 is impressive particularly considering the North Sydney Oval batting paradise the club calls home.

One thing she has forced out of her mind is the prospect of an Australian call-up, having acknowledged a focus on impressing selections had been to her detriment in previous seasons.

However, she did acknowledge on The Surge that in order to have a shot at the national side, players needed a point of difference – something her pace now offers.

"It definitely is cool having that point of difference … the Aussie squad is such a tough side to crack and I feel like you can't get away with just being a medium fast bowler these days.

"It's also cool just to be able to step up the competition and really compete, because batters are evolving, so how can I continue to compete with that?"

Next up for Brown and the Sixers in Thursday's Challenger final against Perth Scorchers at North Sydney Oval, where she'll have the task of helping keep in check some of the game's top batters in Beth Mooney, Katie Mack and Sophie Devine.

Win that, and Hobart Hurricanes beckon in Saturday's final at Ninja Stadium.

Weber WBBL|11 finals

The Knockout: Perth Scorchers beat Melbourne Stars by 28 runs

The Challenger: Sydney Sixers v Perth Scorchers, North Sydney Oval (Thursday, December 11, 7.15pm AEDT)

The Final: Hobart Hurricanes v winner of the Challenger, Ninja Stadium (Saturday, December 13, 7.15pm AEDT)

*A reserve day on Sunday, December 14 is available for the Final