Graham's star role puts name in lights

Up-and-coming Perth Scorchers allrounder Heather Graham announced herself on big stage on Tuesday, displaying nerves of steel with bat and ball to help her team secure a thrilling Super Over victory against the Hobart Hurricanes.

First, she shone with the bat in the chase, striking an unbeaten 44 from just 30 deliveries to tie the game at 173 runs apiece.

That included hitting 16 runs from the final over – which was bowled by England captain Heather Knight, no less.

Then, she barely had time to catch her breath before she was tossed the ball by captain Elyse Villani to bowl the crucial six deliveries that would determine the winner of the crunch match at Blundstone Arena.

“I don’t think there was much going through my head (at that stage) to be honest, I had Chloe (Piparo) at the other end making sure I was on strike, she got me through it,” Graham reflected following the Scorchers’ famous win.

“(Then) I was sitting off thinking I wasn’t needed to bowl and I got to the call up probably two minutes before.

“So I needed to go to the changerooms and change my spikes over, because I bowl in different spikes.”

Bowling a Super Over to the likes of big-hitting India vice-captain Smriti Mandhana and Knight would be enough to spook the most experienced bowler, but the 22-year-old wasn’t fazed – not outwardly, at least – taking two wickets and restricting the Hurricanes to just 10 runs to seal victory.

“I was just trying to breathe and keep myself calm and I think Junior (Villani) helped me through that a lot,” Graham said.

“I knew what I needed to execute and I knew if I did they wouldn’t be able to score the runs.

“I think I missed my lengths a little bit but thank God we’ve got some good fielders in the team and they held the catches.”

Graham’s long been earmarked as a potential future international; she’s toured with Australia A and was part of the National Performance Squad which spent eight weeks training at Brisbane’s Bupa National Cricket Centre during the winter.

It was that time in Queensland that allowed Graham to not only become the fittest she’s ever been, but also to develop new areas of her game during the preseason – in particular, working on her batting technique with NPS coach Leah Poulton – toil that now appears to be paying off.

“She’s a beautiful talent, she bats she bowls and she fields well,” Villani said of Graham ahead of Tuesday’s match.

“I think she’s an incredibly talented player.

“I’m really pleased for her, I hope she continues to enjoy it and not put too much pressure on herself.”

Graham, who hails from Perth, first started playing cricket in the backyard with her two older brothers.

Despite being regularly peppered by the short tennis ball, it ignited a love for the game that saw her play in boys’ leagues before being selected to represent Western Australia aged just 15.

“I don’t know how I wanted to play after that, but maybe I wanted to return the bouncers at them,” Graham, who lists her main interests outside of cricket as drinking coffee and visiting the beach, laughed when interviewed by cricket.com.au ahead of the WBBL|04 season.

In previous years, Graham’s training and other cricket commitments had to be juggled alongside her part-time job working for a concreting company.

But now, thanks to a new pay deal that has increased wages for Australia’s female domestic players, she’s been able to dedicate herself full-time to cricket – and if Tuesday’s performance is anything to go by, it’s paying off.

“It’s given me so much more time to be able to focus on cricket,” she said.

“And when you’re away from cricket, not having to think about what you’ve got to do at work, working was quite draining for me so just focusing on cricket has given me a lot more freedom.

“And it means I’m feeling a lot happier about my game.”