WBBL 2017/18: Seamer Sarah Coyte Comes Out of Retirement to Join Sydney Sixers

Former Australia and Adelaide Striker player Sarah Coyte who retired from domestic cricket last year to focus on her health and deal with her anxiety problem has returned to action and will play for Sydney Sixers in the Women’s Big Bash League.

The Sixers on Tuesday announced they have called in Coyte and England international Amy Jones as replacements for Dane Van Niekerk and Marizanne Kapp who have returned to South Africa for a series against India.

Coyte made her international debut in a T20 match against New Zealand in 2010 but walked out of action after the 2016/17 WBBL. 2- Year-Old, Coyte, who took 100 wickets across 81 matches in all forms of international cricket for Australia between 2010 and 2016.

However, the seam bowler is set to make her return to the sport on Saturday for the Sydney Sixers against her former club Adelaide, as both teams fight to cement their spot in the finals.

Coyte on her return to cricket said,

“Sometimes you’ve got to face the demons. This is the biggest challenge. I want to see what this last year has done for me …to see how much stronger my mind’s gotten and see how much better it’s got to deal with the anxiety it all creates.” 

Coyte was approached by Sixers’ coach Ben Sawyer after she had played some grade cricket in Sydney in the summer. Coyte added,

“My anxiety meant I didn’t sleep for two nights when Ben called me and asked me about it. I can guarantee you Friday night I probably won’t sleep because I’ll be worried about what’s going to happen on Saturday. How is my body going to feel, how is my mindset going to be? Am I going to be up to being on the field, what am I going to be up to being at the game? What am I going to eat before the game? 

“I’m literally taking it session by session, and anything I know is going to make me go backwards I won’t put myself through it. I have no doubt that Ben and the girls will make everything smooth sailing,” 

Sixer’s coach Sawyer also expressed his views on Coyte’s inclusion, 

“We are very excited to have both Amy and Sarah join our squad after our South African duo left for their international tournament,” said Sawyer. “Both girls have international experience for their respective countries, and we believe that their skill set will complement our current squad and make us a competitive team going into the back end of the competition.”