Ten finals. Ten titles.
Sarah Coyte’s perfect record in WNCL finals didn’t go unnoticed ahead of last weekend’s season decider against Queensland in Brisbane. The Breakers seamer had lifted the coveted Ruth Preddy Cup on nine occasions across her 15-year domestic career, winning titles at three different states – New South Wales, South Australia and Tasmania.
And on Sunday evening, she made it ten from ten attempts.
“I’ve just always been a real competitor,” Coyte told Fox Cricket.
“I hate losing, and growing up with two older brothers and playing in the underage boys and men’s (cricket), it’s just something that they brought out in me.
“I think I perform better under pressure to be honest and I really thrive off it.”
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Coyte confessed that at one stage during the run chase, when Queensland was 2-135 in the 30th over in pursuit of a 216-run target, she thought the match was slipping away from the Breakers, but the dismissal of Fire teenager Sianna Ginger prompted a frantic collapse of 8-59, with the hosts falling 21 runs short.
The turning point came in the 41st over when Queensland’s Nicola Hancock slapped a return chance back at Breakers seamer Lauren Cheatle (2-32 from eight overs). The left-armed quick couldn’t hold onto the catch, but the ball ricocheted off her wrist into the stumps at the non-striker’s end for the freakish run out of Fire wicketkeeper Georgia Redmayne, the team’s last recognised batter, who was unbeaten on 97 at the time.
“When something like that happens in a final, I sort of think that’s fate, that’s our calling,” recalled Coyte, who played 81 matches for Australia between 2010 and 2016.
“When the set batter on 97 gets run out like that, it’s pretty hard to not be up and about and think, ‘We’ve got this now’.
“When it happened, I was more concerned about Lauren’s hand, until I saw the ball hit the stump, and I just forgot about her hand altogether.
“(Cheatle) actually was struggling with a foot injury that entire game and leading up to the game, so for her to come out and perform like that, I’m just in awe of her and her resilience.”
The Breakers were missing a trio of national representatives due to injury and Women’s Premier League commitments, with opener Phoebe Litchfield, all-rounder Ash Gardner and wicketkeeper Alyssa Healy unavailable for the final. However, the Queenslanders were also without spinner Jess Jonassen and young gun Georgia Voll, who had been signed as a replacement player for the UP Warriorz just days before the WNCL decider.
Although the loss of Voll came as a massive blow for the Fire, Coyte pointed out that New South Wales had already claimed consecutive wins against Queensland in September at the start of the regular season.
The Breakers were once an unstoppable force in the WNCL, with modern greats such as Alex Blackwell, Lisa Sthalekar, Rachael Haynes and Ellyse Perry helping New South Wales win 20 titles across 23 years. However, after a cluster of first-choice players moved interstate following the 2020 final, the Breakers went through a worrying slump, finishing sixth in 2023 and fifth in 2024.
Coyte, who returned home to NSW ahead of the 2024/25 season following a three-year stint in Tasmania, felt a sense of desperation within the Breakers camp to break its title drought and re-establish themselves as the WNCL’s perennial powerhouse.
“It’s been five years in the making for this team,” Coyte said.
“To perform like we did on Sunday means a hell of a lot, not just to us, but to Cricket NSW.
“I knew when I came back home to Sydney that one of the things I wanted to help this team do was hang in the fight and get back to being one of the dominant teams in the WNCL, and I think we’ve proven this year that we can beat anyone.
“Over the last two years, they were still rebuilding, but we were also learning how to play a really positive brand of cricket and to hang in the fight. It’s really nice to see that it’s happened.
“This is the blueprint for this group moving forward and it’s going to be a dominant force for the next few years.”
The Breakers possess a young and inexperienced roster, but Coyte is adamant there are several future superstars in the making within the squad. Elsa Hunter and Claire Moore enjoyed a breakout campaign with the bat, while wicketkeeper Tahlia Wilson and batter Anika Learoyd earned selection for the upcoming Australia A series against England A, along with Cheatle, all-rounder Hannah Darlington and seamer Maitlan Brown.
“That’s the exciting part. Yes we’re young, but now experience-wise we’re not a young side. We’ve got plenty of WNCL games under our belt as a squad now,” Coyte said.
“I think moving forward the girls are going to take plenty of confidence out of this season and I think we’re just going to keep going from strength to strength.
“We’ve got such a balance in our squad now and it’s really exciting to see it all come together.”
The Breakers’ triumph comes amid reports that Perry, who moved interstate to Victoria in 2019, was poised to head back to New South Wales during the off-season.
“If Perry comes back, that’s great,” Coyte said.
“If we get to see her around the place, it would be even better. I’m sure she’d be a great mentor for the younger girls in our group.”
Coyte’s attention turns to this weekend’s grade cricket semi-final between Campbelltown and Sydney, where she’ll come up against Breakers teammates Brown and Sammy Jo-Johnson.
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