Sydney Sixers all-rounder Caoimhe Bray has revealed the advice teammate Ellyse Perry gave her as she navigates the challenges of being a dual athlete in her late teens.
Bray, who recently celebrated her 16th birthday, is currently juggling commitments in two sporting codes, representing the Sixers and New South Wales Breakers while playing as a goalkeeper for the Junior Matildas and the Newcastle Jets.
Last season, the right-armer signed a three-year contract with the Sixers after becoming the youngest cricketer in Women’s Big Bash League history, making her debut a few weeks after her 15th birthday.
“It’s definitely been hard,” Bray told reporters when asked about balancing her sporting commitments.
“It’s just quite hard with the Breakers pre-season being on to be able to fully commit myself to the (Newcastle Jets) Academy season during the winter. Then obviously the A-League soccer season is during the summer, and that’s when I can’t commit almost at all due to cricket being on.
“I’ve got to commit myself to cricket for that half of the season and then when the winter comes around, that’s when soccer can come back in.”
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Bray hasn’t yet decided which sport to pursue during her adult years, with it becoming increasingly difficult for her to play both.
“So many people obviously have their own opinions,” Bray continued.
“I’ve got the three years signed with the Sixers, and so much can change over that period.
“I don’t know what it’s going to be like in a few years, but I think I’m going to try and stick to it as much as I can and we’ll see how it goes.”
Bray has inevitably drawn comparisons to superstar Perry, who represented Australia at the 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup and made 18 appearances for the Matildas before committing to cricket.
Speaking to Fox Cricket, Bray confirmed she had consulted Perry on how to handle being a professional athlete in two sports during her teenage years.
“I did have a chat with her a few months ago about what she did with soccer and cricket and how she decided,” Bray explained.
“I think it’s a thing that comes almost naturally, and you realise at a point it’s just getting too hard.
“She was like, ‘Whatever you go with, they’re both going to be great options, just keep enjoying it.’ That’s the main point.”
On Saturday, Bray became the first WBBL cricketer in four years to take a hat-trick, achieving the feat during the Sixers’ 24-run victory over cross-town rivals the Sydney Thunder at Drummoyne Oval.
She finished with career-best figures of 4-15 from four overs, becoming the youngest player to take a four-wicket haul in the WBBL, bettering the previous record set by Australian representative Annabel Sutherland in 2018.
Bray is currently the WBBL’s second-leading wicket-taker with six scalps at a staggering average of 5.33, having also dismissed England captain Nat Sciver-Brunt earlier in the tournament.
“It’s cool getting out those big dogs,” Bray laughed after the match.
Bray, who was born in 2009, narrowly avoided the social media ban that will be introduced next month, when Australians aged under 16 will be prohibited from creating accounts on popular sites such as Facebook and Instagram. The dual athlete was briefly worried she may have to remove or deactivate her Instagram account, emphasising how much younger she is than her Sixers teammates.
Following her WBBL debut, the Sixers shared a series of photos of a baby-faced Bray posing alongside Australian superstars Alyssa Healy, Ash Gardner and Perry at the 2020 Women’s T20 World Cup. Five years later, those childhood heroes are her teammates.
Asked if she was still pinching herself at the prospect of playing alongside some of the sport’s modern greats, Bray responded: “I don’t think I’ll ever stop, to be honest. It’s just crazy.
“If you told me three years ago that I’d be playing with Ellyse Perry, it’s just an idea that I never thought of, and being able to do it is such a privilege.”
Raised in Denham in the Upper Hunter Region of New South Wales, Bray and her family relocated to Newcastle in 2023 to help the teenager pursue her twin sporting loves, at one stage sharing their house with a group of university students.
Bray’s mother Kim, who has given all six of her children Irish names despite there being no Irish heritage in the family, has clocked more than 290,000km in her five-year-old car having taxied Bray between Denham, Newcastle and Sydney for her various sporting commitments.
Earlier this year, Year 10 school student Bray represented Australia at the Under-19 Women’s T20 World Cup in Malaysia, where she was comfortably the youngest among her teammates. Yet despite the age difference, she finished the tournament as Australia’s leading run-scorer with 119 runs at 29.75, also contributing seven wickets.
Bray believes her bowling has come leaps and bounds over the past 12 months — not only has she added a yard of pace, but she’s developed her outswinger while improving her bouncers and yorkers.
“I’d like to think my cricket has gone to another level over these past 12 months,” she said.
“I’ve been working hard during the pre-season on certain aspects of my game … but I’ve still got plenty of things to work on.”
The Sixers will next face the Melbourne Stars at North Sydney Oval on Thursday with the first ball scheduled for 7.10pm AEDT.
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