Sarah Aley

Sarah Elizabeth Aley (born 3 June 1984) is an Australian former cricketer.^[1][2] She played domestic cricket for New South Wales in the Women's National Cricket League (WNCL) and the Sydney Sixers in the Women's Big Bash League (WBBL). In 2017 she played three matches for the Australian national cricket team. She retired from all forms of cricket in 2020.

Sarah Aley

Aley bowling for the Sydney Sixers
Personal information
Full name	Sarah Elizabeth Aley
Born	(1984-06-03) 3 June 1984 (age 40) Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Batting	Right-handed
Bowling	Right arm medium
Role	Bowler
International information
National side	Australia (2017)
Only ODI (cap 136)	5 July 2017 v Pakistan
T20I debut (cap 47)	17 November 2017 v England
Last T20I	19 November 2017 v England
Domestic team information
Years	Team
2004/05–2019/20	New South Wales
2007–2011	Warwickshire
2015/16–2020/21	Sydney Sixers
Career statistics
Competition WODI WT20I WNCL WBBL Matches 1 2 123 81 Runs scored 15 1 745 219 Batting average – 1.00 14.60 8.42 100s/50s 0/0 0/0 0/1 0/0 Top score 15* 1 69 29 Balls bowled 60 24 3,979 1,446 Wickets 2 0 97 89 Bowling average 14.50 – 27.15 17.84 5 wickets in innings 0 – 0 0 10 wickets in match 0 – 0 0 Best bowling 2/29 – 4/35 4/8 Catches/stumpings 1/– 0/– 50/– 14/–
Source: CricketArchive, 1 January 2023

Cricket career

Aley played domestic cricket for New South Wales, making her state debut in the 2004/05 season. Her only international call-up in the first part of her career was for Australia's under-23 team in 2004.^[3][4] Women's cricket at state level was still amateur, without player contracts, while Aley was in her 20s, so she worked full-time at the University of Sydney to earn money while playing cricket.^[4] Aley struggled with injuries in her late 20s, so she considered retiring from the sport until Cricket Australia introduced contracts for state players.^[4]

Aley had her breakout season in the 2016/17 summer. Playing for the Sydney Sixers, she was the leading wicket-taker in the second season of the Women's Big Bash League (WBBL) and was the player of the match in the tournament final. She took four wickets to help the Sixers defend a total that was seen as below par.^[5] At the end of the season she had more wickets in the WBBL than any other bowler.^[4] As a reward for her form, she received a call-up to join the Australian national cricket team squad for a Twenty20 International (T20I) series against New Zealand,^[6] but she did not play a match.

Aley was again included in Australia's squad for the 2017 Women's Cricket World Cup.^[7] During the World Cup, she made her One Day International (ODI) debut against Pakistan, becoming the oldest women's Australian player to make their ODI debut in nearly 45 years.^[7][8] In November 2017, Aley was included in the Australian squad for the T20I portion of the Women's Ashes Series.^[9] During this series, she made her T20I debut.^[10]

While playing for the Sydney Sixers in the 2017–18 WBBL season, Aley scored two runs off the final ball of a match against the Melbourne Renegades to tie the score and force the game into a Super Over. Initially, Aley only scored a single run, but Renegades wicket-keeper Emma Inglis caught the ball without standing over the stumps and waiting for confirmation that the ball was dead. Inglis threw the ball into the air and allowed it to hit the ground, keeping the ball live, so Aley ran a second run. The Sixers still lost the match in the Super Over.^[11]

In May 2020, Aley announced her retirement from one-day cricket and the NSW Breakers.^[12] In November 2020, Aley also announced her retirement from the WBBL.^[13]

References

1. "Sarah Aley". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 29 January 2017.
2. "Sarah Aley". CricketArchive. Retrieved 1 January 2023.
3. "13-player Australian squad named to take on New Zealand". ESPNcricinfo. 19 January 2004. Retrieved 1 January 2023.
4. Farrell, Melinda (28 January 2017). "Business as usual for workhorse Aley". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 1 January 2023.
5. Macpherson, Will (28 January 2017). "Sixers ride on Aley's four-for to clinch WBBL title". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 1 January 2023.
6. "Aley gets Australia call-up for T20I series against New Zealand". ESPNcricinfo. 9 February 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2023.
7. "Uncapped Vakarewa, Aley in Australia's World Cup squad". ESPNcricinfo. 18 May 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2023.
8. "ICC Women's World Cup, 15th Match: Australia Women v Pakistan Women at Leicester, Jul 5, 2017". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 5 July 2017.
9. "Australia's Lauren Cheatle out of Ashes T20Is". ESPNcricinfo. 14 November 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2023.
10. "1st T20I (N), England Women tour of Australia at Sydney, Nov 17 2017". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 17 November 2017.
11. "Dead Ball law under scrutiny after Inglis gaffe". ESPNcricinfo. 3 January 2018. Retrieved 1 January 2023.
12. AAP (2 May 2020). "Twelve-time champion retires from one-day cricket". Cricket.com.au. Cricket Australia. Retrieved 3 May 2020.
13. "Sarah Aley announces WBBL retirement via Instagram". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 24 November 2020.

External links

• Sarah Aley at ESPNcricinfo
• Sarah Aley at Cricket Australia