Sam Betts
Broken Hill’s Samantha (Sam) Betts was 17 when she became a new recruit, or rookie, of South Australia’s women’s cricketing team the Scorpions. Still in school, Betts was traveling to Adelaide weekly in between classes to train with the Scorpions.
Sam Betts had already played in the under 15 women’s cricket competition in Adelaide when Australian international women’s cricket player Shelley Nitschke talent-spotted her playing at the West Broken Hill Cricket Club. Of her mostly-male fellow-cricketers at the club, Bett said: ‘the boys in Broken Hill were really supportive and encouraging, they welcomed me and gave me a fair go.’ Betts worked hard and her bowling style steadily improved until she was the Scorpions’ squad bowler.
Making her debut game with the Scorpions in the 2012-13 cricket season, Betts demonstrated her talent as a bowler. This led to her playing almost every game in 2014-15. Her bowling style is described as medium-pace swing bowling. In semi-final against Queensland Fire in the 2014-15 cricket season Betts was the hero of the match, taking 2-16. In the 2015–16 Women’s National Cricket League Victorian Sprite, she excelled again, bowling 3/39.
In 2016, Sam Betts was awarded the Adam Gilchrist Cricket Scholarship, funded by UK youth sports charity the Lord’s Taverners. The scholarship is awarded each year to the best under 21 female cricketer in Australia and provides awardees with airfares and a five-month season in England, in addition to receiving coaching from senior players in the English cricket community. Aged 20, Betts found herself travelling to the UK to represent Hampshire and Hursley Park Cricket Clubs..
In the 2018-19 season Betts joined only two other SA women cricket players to ‘take a 5 wicket haul’ since the formation of the Women’s National Cricket League (WNCL). In the same season she won the WNCL bowling award after taking 9 wickets at 20.44.
In true Broken Hill form, even though women’s cricket is not hugely popular, Betts credits the men’s teams for giving her the support that has made her a national women’s cricket star.
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