'I wanted the captain to throw the ball to me in any circumstance'
Cathryn Fitzpatrick, the Australia women's coach, can teach her charges plenty about work ethic, though she doesn't think they are less mentally tough than their predecessors
When I was growing up, my older brother and I used to play cricket. He would want to bat all the time, so I had to bowl all the time. When I got him out, he would say he did not want to play anymore. I would want to, so I would keep bowling. So it had something to do with my brother's unsportsmanlike behaviour in the front yard!
I am a competitor. I love the competition, the tactical component of the game. I loved bowling to the good batters, trying to work out where the weaknesses were and getting the right sequences of deliveries to get them out. In my entire time, I never stopped enjoying that challenge.
No. Only when I wanted to go on and coach. At that time I felt I could keep going for a year or two more, but it just seemed the right time. I had a lot of injuries throughout my career but we had really good physios and medical people that gave me the confidence that I would get myself right and go again. Pre-seasons are always tough. The older you get, the more you have to prove yourself to the young kids coming through.
I loved the battle. I wanted the captain to throw the ball to me in any circumstance. To be confident enough to turn the game for the team was something I loved. When you plan something and it works, that is what I loved seeing. Trying to upset a batter's footwork and make them go for a nick or trying to exploit a gap between bat and pad. It wasn't any specific type of dismissal.
It is not something that you set out to do. There is an expectation that you have to perform. I didn't mind that. It drove me to keep working hard on my fitness. Having that reputation, I think I picked up some wickets I shouldn't have. I didn't mind that. That is part of what I try to teach our girls. We have some talented batters and I talk to them about having a presence. You can have that presence at the crease, and that can create doubts in the bowler's mind.
Our girls are semi-professional now, but back when I played that wasn't the case. You just played for the cap and the honour. You go to any male players who played in the '40s - they'll say the same thing. It involved a lot of leave without pay from work. That changed towards the end of my career. The investments were worth it, though. For whatever reason, the desire to have the badge on your chest was always there and I never took it for granted. I am more than happy to have had it at a cost.
If things hadn't changed for female cricketers I would have probably struggled to play for such a long time. That's because your commitments change as you get older. You can't just keep changing jobs. You have different responsibilities with your finances. Had it not become easier for females to play, I might have had to make a different decision. We got a little bit of compensation and things balanced out for me.
"When you are young, you don't have worries about money. You just get by. It means you drive a shitty car. You don't go out as much. I chose to spend my money on playing cricket rather than buying new clothes. I don't have any regrets about any of that"
We paid to play as well as took leave from work. So that is your holidays gone, plus leave without pay. That was a choice we made. These players now haven't experienced it so much and that is a good thing. The women that played for Australia in the '30s had it harder. Our role - people like myself, Belinda Clark, Karen Rolton - hopefully made it easier for these girls to come through. Certainly no resentment towards that. I feel proud that we paved way for girls coming through now.
When you play, all you want is respect from your team-mates. The people in the dressing room count the most to you. When you stop playing, it is what those people have to say, and that is your legacy, that this player played with determination - that is the legacy you want. I don't think you play for the experience of the limelight.
I think so. I can speak for our girls, not for others. Our girls understand our legacy. Being the coach of this team, I take the responsibility of ensuring the legacy of previous players goes on. We have talked about that a lot. That is part of our tradition that we respect. We don't take it lightly and we respect the badge, which means everybody that played for Australia before us.
It was cricket most of the time. Early on, I did jobs that allowed me to get to training on time or where there was a fitness component involved. I ran behind a garbage truck for four or five years early in the morning. I was on a pushbike delivering mail. Every day of the week had a cricket component. You certainly watched what you ate all the time.
Yeah, for about five or six years. Started on a pushbike, which was good for fitness. I finished riding a motorbike because they wanted to motorise, as it was a lot more efficient. I would do the rounds for about three to four hours. When I was running behind the garbage truck, it was similar - three or four hours of just running, which was a fantastic. That is not for everyone, but I didn't mind getting up in the morning and getting the work done so that it allowed me to work on my cricket skills in the afternoon.
Not a whole lot. At work I was, because a lot of my work environment was male-dominated and a lot of the guys loved cricket and wanted to talk about it. On my rounds, the only reason anybody would know was if someone else was doing them when I was off playing cricket. When I'd come back, they'd say, "You didn't tell me you played cricket for Australia."
Not for me. It was never a problem. I always knew because I was away playing when I came back I had to be the best at what I worked at, so that people didn't begrudge me for nicking off all the time and going and doing other stuff. As a member of the Australian team, I also had to make sure I did everything right at work and not cut corners.
I didn't save money at that time. When I did, I would spend it on cricket. When you are young, you don't have worries about money. You just get by. It means you drive a shitty car, you don't drive big shining cars. You don't go out as much. I chose to spend my money on playing cricket rather than buying new clothes. I don't have any regrets about any of that.
When I was finishing high school, I wanted to be a teacher. I wanted to work with young people. I guess I didn't have to think about it. I am lucky it was cricket.
A whole lot. The confidence and skill of the players has improved. Someone like Belinda Clark did not have a power game but her timing was second to none and would still hold up in today's environment. Now there is nowhere to hide for players. Before, there might have been three or four players who would have been picked solely as a batter or a bowler. Now when we pick a team you have got to be able to field, do at least two of the three skills. The playing and travelling demands are more on the girls now. The fitness requirements to be able to cope with those demands are also more.
The beauty of Ellyse Perry is that she is a dual international. What that does back home for girls considering playing one sport or the other is to show them they don't have to choose. Holly Ferling also plays netball at a good level. So now Holly can look at Ellyse and say, "I can do both, I don't have to choose." Ellyse is a great role model and Holly will become a good role model as well. We get more coverage at home. Young girls being able to have idols that they see all the time is invaluable for us to attract and retain more girls in our sport.
These girls are in the spotlight a whole lot more, with games on television. It is a tough one. We had girls that were mentally tougher than others and we also have that now. That is a hard one to compare, really.
It is not easier but more accepted. These girls play, they study, they work. If they live away from their homes, they are running their households. It has become more acceptable for girls to be out pursuing sporting careers. It goes back to these girls being role models - that you can work full-time and you can travel the world playing cricket.
I think it is harder for the girls now as they are more in the spotlight. I didn't feel I was in the limelight so much. I always felt, though, that I had to be a good representative. That flowed on into my work environment as well, where people knew I was an Australian cricketer, so I ensured I lived up to my values as best as I could. Not everyone can do that. I possibly was a role model but not as much as these girls, so I can't say it was difficult.
Abhishek Purohit is a sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo