But in last season’s WBBL, she played all 15 matches for the Sydney Sixers and so far this campaign she is the leading wicket-taker with 19 runs at 13.68 in 10 matches, while she now has confidence that her body will not let her down.
“I thought maybe the green and gold were behind me, not that I wanted to stop trying,” she said. “I think the game has progressed a lot and you can see the talent coming in is getting better and better. They are one of the best teams in world sport, not just in cricket, so to be able to be in that top 16 is important.” [something] I’m really proud.
“My body has been through a lot and I’ve been through this journey but I’m so excited to get this call to head to India.”
The need for a fourth shoulder surgery in late 2021 tested Chettle’s spirit to go through the rehabilitation process again, while cancer earlier that year, which required skin cancer to be removed, was the scariest problem she had to face. She has previously spoken about how waiting for confirmation that the cancer had not spread was the longest seven days of her life.
“[The] Fourth shoulder [reconstruction] It was very difficult and so was the cancer scare. I feel like it came out of nowhere and really readjusted the way I think about injuries and recovery. That was a really scary point in my career, a point I never thought I’d face…it’s a point that will never go away.
“The frustration of having to rebuild the shoulder again after going through three stages was so overwhelming I felt there was no point in doing it again if I was going to hurt myself again. But we took the time to rehabilitate it properly and did everything we could.” The right decisions.
“I think professional sport presents you with a lot of different challenges. I feel like my journey has thrown up more of those as well…but the people who have supported me throughout it have been amazing and have been a major part of why I’ve kept going.”
Chettle will only be part of the Test leg of the upcoming tour, and whether or not she makes her debut in that format will depend on the balance of the side Australia choose, and perhaps whether they are favored over Kim Garth or Darcy Brown.
Multi-day cricket is a rarity in the women’s game, and Chettle’s experience of that amounts to two matches, the last of which was for Australia A earlier this year in England when the team undertook a simultaneous Ashes tour.
“[It’s about] “I’m more patient with the red ball and stacking larger amounts together,” she said. [the T20] Format you get one or two [overs] Here and there and you do not have enough time to constantly collect offers. It is clear that the speculators are coming with more force [in T20] And you prepare the mixture much differently and have more time to work out the plans.
“It will be interesting to switch from T20 cricket to red-ball cricket, but I think the basics are the same in any format.
“I’ve really enjoyed those three-day matches and I love bowling. The more I bowl, the happier I become, so I’d like to think it’s a format that could suit me, but it’s also a format I’d like to see introduced into the women’s game, whether it’s two or three days.” I think it’s a formula that can really excel in women’s cricket. “
She admitted she was short on details about what the next few weeks would look like in terms of preparations after being overwhelmed by the news of her recall, and then had an emotional conversation with her family.
“Through those two calls, I’m not quite sure what was said. They were really happy, talking through tears, and then when they cry, I cry, so it’s an emotional phone call, but happy tears.”
Andrew McGlashan is deputy editor at ESPNcricinfo
