Surreal and a little bit scary: cricket returns to Australia in the Covid era

There were no big speeches to mark the occasion, no ceremony. When the Australian women’s team assembled for training in Brisbane on Tuesday morning – the first time we had been together as a group since that historic night at the Melbourne Cricket Ground six months ago – the significance of the occasion did not need to be called out. We all felt it.

You could see it in the little smiles as we gathered around in a circle for warm-ups. You could hear it in the banter. It was a special vibe, an unspoken bond, the kind of feeling you have when you have not seen family in a long time, yet you instinctively pick up where you left off all those months ago.

There was also a real sense of getting back to business. We know we have got a job to do. More people than ever before will be watching these matches between us and New Zealand. It is the first international sporting series of any kind to be played in Australia since the pandemic started and we know we have to put on a show.

That is a good pressure to have. I think we are at our best when under the pump a bit. Expectation like this, and the criticism that comes with it, is something we could not have dreamed of three years ago. I know that sounds weird, criticism being a good thing, but I genuinely mean it. It shows that people care and are invested in what we do. It is what we have always wanted.

We could feel that changing during the T20 World Cup and it has been really obvious since. I have had countless interactions with people around Adelaide over these past six months who have walked up to me to express an opinion on the team and how we play the game, way more so than at any other point in my career. Others have just wanted to tell me that they were there that night at the MCG, or that they were at home watching us on the TV. It has been lovely.

One of the best parts about being in Adelaide over the last period has been the time I have got to spend with my Scorpions teammates and our Pathways kids. They will be replacing me in five years time and I have enjoyed the opportunity to pass on my experiences with the Australian team, take in their responses and contemplate the impact we have had on their generation. I do not think I had truly grasped it before then.

It is true, though, that the Covid-19 situation among us free settlers has not been felt as acutely as in other parts of the country. That is what made the arrival into Brisbane on Monday night so surreal. There were ADF personnel and cops all over the airport and strict checks and testing that we all had to undergo.

It felt like I was arriving in another country. Yes, it was a little bit scary but, if I am being honest, it was actually quite comforting. It was the first time I had experienced first-hand just how thorough the measures in place were to contain and, hopefully, eliminate the virus. No one was exempt.

There was no big reunion when we arrived at the hotel. We are spaced out across different levels and there are strict distancing protocols in place, like not being allowed to have any more than four people in an elevator at the one time.

That is why it was so special when we got together for that first training session on Tuesday. Our team has players from different age groups, different states and very different personalities. But it just works. I love them and I have missed them and I reckon they all feel the same way.

You could feel the relief among the Victorian and New South Wales players, given they have had to observe a strict quarantine for the last fortnight, and excitement from the rest of us. And it was awesome to see my ‘kids’ again. Annabel Sutherland, Georgia Wareham and Tayla Vlaeminck call me “mum” and we’ve Facetimed a lot during our time apart. Seeing Annabel and Georgia in person was lovely, as it will be when Tayla rejoins the squad after she returns from injury.

And now the series is upon us. I cannot wait.