Cheatle eyes Ashes after horror run

Young quick Lauren Cheatle admits that in her darkest moments, she flirted with the idea of walking away from the game all together.

The left-arm fast bowler is just 20 years old but has endured a torrid run of injuries since bursting onto the international scene as a fresh-faced 17-year-old in 2016.

Now, after completing her first injury-free season since 2015-16, the Bowral product is aiming to stake her claim on a place in Australia’s Ashes squad for the upcoming tour of the United Kingdom.

Illness and injury confined Cheatle to the sidelines for the best part of two summers, but she returned to the Australian ODI squad in February and was subsequently named in this year’s National Performance Squad – giving her a chance to impress coaches and selectors in camp alongside the Australian-contracted group this month.

"It would be incredible (to be picked for the Ashes), I’m not expecting it at all but I’ll do everything I can to be selected,” Cheatle told cricket.com.au.

"There’s plenty of girls in same position who want to be playing so I can only focus on myself and what I’m doing.

"But it would be absolutely unbelievable to be picked and to go over in that squad to England and play there in their conditions so my fingers are definitely crossed."

Even if she misses out on a berth in that Ashes group, Cheatle is a strong chance to be included in the Australia A squad who will tour alongside the senior team.

If either possibility eventuates, it would be a milestone moment for the NSW bowler, who must have thought she’d walked under a ladder, broken a mirror and crossed paths with a black cat, so terrible were her fortunes in 2016-17 and 2017-18.

"In 2016 I got quite sick, I had glandular fever, tonsillitis and bronchitis and it all hit me at once," Cheatle said.

"So I missed most of the Big Bash that year."

Fully recovered, Cheatle returned to Australian colours for the tour of New Zealand in early 2017, where she made her one-day international debut.

With a World Cup just months away, Cheatle was well in Australia’s plans for the 50-over tournament – only to suffer another setback.

"I’d had ongoing shoulder issues for three or four years and ended up needing to have surgery in May 2017, which then took a good eight months of recovery, longer than expected.

"I then played one game for New South Wales and ended up getting a back stress fracture, which took me out for another six or seven months.

"There was a good 18 months of cricket where I played one or two games.”

It was the stress fracture which was particularly painful – physically and mentally – for Cheatle, who was part of Australia’s Ashes squad and on the cusp of making her Test debut in the historic day-night match at North Sydney Oval in late 2017 when the injury struck.

"I did want to throw in the towel, but that turned around quite quickly once my rehabilitation started and I could make small improvements every week.

"There were a few times where I didn’t want to play, but I love the game so much that I couldn’t give it up.

"It was made a lot easier with the support network around me and the continuous messages from the New South Wales and Australia camps that they were still looking out for me and still watching my performances, so I didn’t have to dig myself in a hole anywhere and think I was left out."

Making the string of setbacks harder to take was the fact success came so early and quickly for Cheatle.

She was included in the New South Wales squad at just 15 and made her debut at 16 – having already represented Australia A – while she had a stunning first year in the Rebel WBBL, finishing fourth on the competition wickets tally as the Sydney Thunder took out the title.

It was enough to capture the attention of national selectors, who handed Cheatle an international debut against India before naming the teenager in Australia’s squad for the 2016 T20 World Cup in India.

In her first two months as an Australian cricketer, Cheatle had already travelled to New Zealand and the subcontinent and look poised to add plenty more stamps to her passport.

The left-armer missed Australia’s next engagement, a tour of Sri Lanka, due to her year 12 studies and from there things took a distinct downward turn.

But much to Cheatle’s relief, the summer of 2018-19 finally brought a change in fortune.

She made if through the entire Big Bash season unscathed – playing for the Sixers, this time, after swapping Sydney clubs midway through her injury woes – and was recalled for Australia’s ODI series against New Zealand in February.

"I was actually looking at footage from my first game for Australia recently and it feels like so long ago,” Cheatle said. "Technically and physically I’ve changed a lot, but I think my mindset on how to play the game has also grown and still has more growing to do.

"But I feel like I’m in a really good place with my cricket at the moment, which is the main thing.

"To have a full season on the park last year was something myself and my strength and conditioning coach were aiming for, so to get that in was incredible and something I’m really proud of.

"For me to be rewarded with that Australian call-up was really exciting."

Cheatle is also grateful for the never-ending support of her parents, who despite dealing with health issues of their own never hesitated to ferry Cheatle between cricket – including NSW training in Sydney – school and medical commitments through her various periods of rehabilitation.

"They’ve been massive, they’ve had their own setbacks but they never let it get in the way of what they wanted for me and all their support for me,” she said.

"I’m really grateful for it.

"I called my mum first when I was recalled and she cried and when she cried, I cried, so it was just a really emotional time.

"Tears of joy, obviously, I was just really happy to get back into that squad after a few years on the sidelines and I’m just looking forward to this next season."

It seems like a long time since a 17-year-old Cheatle arrived on the international stage, but at just 20, there’s plenty of time for her to find her feet at the highest level.

One person backing her to do just that is her Sixers captain and fellow quick Ellyse Perry.

"It’s been really pleasing to see Cheats do well, particularly towards the end of the last season,” Perry told cricket.com.au. "She just finally got a chance to be on the park consistently and play more matches and as a result I think she just got a lot more confidence about her bowling.

"That was really cool to see and that culminated in her being swept into the Aussie squad for that last series, which was great.

"I know she's been working particularly hard on her strength and in her fitness, so I'm really hoping she has a great season coming up because she's got a lot of potential."

CommBank Ashes Tour of England

First ODI Grace Road, Leicester, July 2

Second ODI Grace Road, Leicester, July 4

Third ODI St Lawrence Ground, Canterbury, July 7

Test The County Ground, Taunton, July 18-21

First T20 County Ground, Chelmsford, July 26

Second T20 The County Ground, Hove, July 28

Third T20 Bristol County Ground, Bristol, July 31

A Test victory is worth four points (two each for a draw), two points are awarded for ODI and T20 wins