.jpg) Coyte bowling for Australia in 2014 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Sarah Jane Coyte | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | (1991-03-30)30 March 1991 (age 34) Camden, New South Wales, Australia | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nickname | Coytey[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Batting | Right-handed | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bowling | Right-armmedium fast | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Role | Bowler | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| International information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| National side | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Test debut (cap 160) | 22 January 2011 v England | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Last Test | 11 August 2015 v England | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ODI debut (cap 118) | 5 January 2011 v England | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Last ODI | 24 February 2016 v New Zealand | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| T20I debut (cap 31) | 30 December 2010 v New Zealand | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Last T20I | 1 March 2016 v New Zealand | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Domestic team information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2009/10–2014/15 | New South Wales | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2015/16–2016/17 | South Australia | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2015/16–2016/17 | Adelaide Strikers | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2017/18 | Sydney Sixers | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2018/19–2021/22 | Adelaide Strikers | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2019/20 | Australian Capital Territory | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2020/21–2022/23 | Tasmania | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2022/23–present | Melbourne Renegades | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2023/24–present | New South Wales | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Career statistics | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Source:ESPNcricinfo,13 June 2020 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sarah Jane Coyte[2] (born 30 March 1991) is an Australiancricketer fromCamden, New South Wales. A right-armmedium fast bowler, Coyte has taken a total of 100 wickets for thenational women's team acrossTests,ODIs andT20Is. She currently plays for theMelbourne Renegades in theWomen's Big Bash League (WBBL).
In addition to her bowling prowess, Coyte has proven to be a handylower-orderbatter and notable performer in tournament finals. She has won two world championships with Australia, seven WNCL championships withNew South Wales andSouth Australia, and one WBBL championship with theSydney Sixers. Her successful cricket career was established and maintained despite an ongoing battle withanorexia nervosa and other mental health issues which prompted a premature, albeit temporary, retirement from the game in 2017.
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On 7 November 2009, Coyte made herWNCL debut playing forNew South Wales in a 15-run win againstQueensland, managing impressive bowling figures of 4/25 from six overs and helping to defend a total of 198.[3] She finished the2009–10 season with twelve wickets at anaverage of 15.16, having played all eleven matches including the 59-run win againstVictoria in the final.[4][5]
Coyte went on to be involved in five more successful campaigns with New South Wales in as many seasons. Her highlights included:
During August 2015, Coyte announced she would leave New South Wales to play forSouth Australia.[16] In the2015–16 final, she took 1/24 from ten overs as South Australia claimed their first national title with a 54-run win.[17] The victory brought an end to New South Wales' streak of ten-consecutive championships which Coyte helped to build.[18]
Across the2016–17 season, Coyte took nine wickets at an average of 24.88, although South Australia finished in fourth place and failed to qualify for the final.[19][20] In March 2017, she announced her retirement from domestic cricket at the age of 25, citing a need to seek better balance in her life to combat mental health issues.[21]
Coyte returned to the WNCL for the2019–20 season, signing with theACT Meteors in May 2019.[22] She earned her first Player of the Match award with the team on 6 February 2020 againstTasmania, taking 2/30 from eight overs and then scoring 48 not out to help chase down a target of 199 with three wickets and 21 balls to spare.[23] The Meteors finished the tournament in fifth place.[24]
Opting to focus solely on Twenty20 cricket, Coyte did not sign with a WNCL team ahead of the2020–21 season.[25] However, she joinedTasmania midway through their campaign,[26] debuting on 25 February 2021 against New South Wales atBlundstone Arena in a tied match.[27] On 7 March, Coyte recorded her second WNCL half-century and highest score in the league, coming in to bat at 5/89 and managing 66 runs off 88 balls, though her team would nevertheless lose the match to Queensland by eight wickets.[28]
In a similar scenario to the previous season, Coyte once again opted against signing with a state team during the2021–22 contracting period, but Tasmania re-added her to their roster on the eve of the tournament.[29][30]
Ahead of the2023–24 season, Coyte was poached by New South Wales, where she was expected to benefit the team's 'talented but youthful' pace attack.[31]
On 17 July 2015, theAdelaide Strikers announced they had signed Coyte for theinaugural Women's Big Bash League season.[32] She earned her first Player of the Match award in theWBBL on 1 January 2016 atAdelaide Oval against thePerth Scorchers, scoring 52 not out from 38 balls to help chase down a target of 137 with six wickets and nine balls to spare.[33] On 10 January, she delivered a dominantall-round performance against theMelbourne Stars at theJunction Oval, scoring 72 off 55 balls before taking 3/12 in a 50-run victory.[34] Although the Strikers only finished in seventh place,[35] Coyte had a strong individual campaign as the team's leading wicket-taker with 14 and scoring 243 runs.[36][37]
The Strikers struggled throughoutWBBL|02, winning just three games and finishing in last place on the ladder.[38] Coyte experienced a slide in her own form, managing seven wickets at an average of 38.85 while contributing 26 runs from ten innings at astrike rate of 61.90.[39] At the conclusion of the season, she announced her retirement from domestic cricket at the age of 25, citing a need to seek better balance in her life to combat mental health issues.[21]
Ahead ofWBBL|03, Coyte turned down an offer to join theHobart Hurricanes.[40] During the 2017–18 Australian summer, she occasionally played in local games forPenrith which motivatedSydney Sixers coach Ben Sawyer to approach her about a temporary comeback to top-level domestic cricket.[41] WithSouth African pairMarizanne Kapp andDane van Niekerk unavailable for the last few weeks of the WBBL season due to national team commitments, the Sixers signed Coyte as a marquee replacement player.[42]
On 27 January 2018, in her return to the league, Coyte took match-best figures of 2/14 from four overs during a seven-wicket win against the Adelaide Strikers atHurstville Oval.[43] The following day, playing against the Strikers at Hurstville Oval once more, she was named Player of the Match for her bowling figures of 3/18 from four overs which helped the Sixers to another seven-wicket victory and clinch theminor premiership.[44][45] In the final atAdelaide Oval on 4 February, she produced "exemplary bowling"[46] to take 3/17 in the first innings which led to thePerth Scorchers being bowled out for just 99. The Sixers chased the target down with nine wickets in hand and 30 balls remaining to win the championship, while Coyte was named Player of the Final.[47]
Reflecting upon a whirlwind resurgence, which included ten wickets in four matches at an average of 8.10,[48] Coyte commented that her true personal victory came when she "walked out (onto the ground) at Hurstville" a week earlier.[49] In ablog post forAthletesVoice, Coyte noted she hadn't committed to playing cricket full-time again: "I hope these last couple of weeks haven't added pressure with people asking me about coming back. That wasn't the intention... I wouldn't completely shut it down as an option but I wouldn't want to get everyone's hopes up either. I don't know what my state of mind is on this. It constantly changes. I ride the wave every single day."[40]
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On 14 June 2018, the Adelaide Strikers announced they had once again signed Coyte as a member of their squad.[50] Speaking about her new two-season contract with the Strikers, she said: "I've been working really hard to find balance in my life over the last year or so and I feel I'm in a great place both physically and mentally. Now there is no pressure on me for national selection, I'm able to train and play well because I want to, not because I feel I have to."[51]
Coyte enjoyed a highly productiveWBBL|05 campaign, taking 19 wickets and helping the Strikers to reach their first championship final. She pulled off her first Player of the Match award of the season on 26 October 2019 in a low-scoring encounter with the Hobart Hurricanes atAllan Border Field. Her late-innings cameo of 24 from 13 balls proved critical in what would be a narrow three-run victory.[52] She earned her second Player of the Match award of the season on 30 November, taking 3/9 off four overs in an eight-wicket win over the Sydney Sixers at Hurstville Oval.[53] Coyte managed bowling figures of 1/27 from four overs in the WBBL|05 final on 8 December against theBrisbane Heat at Allan Border Field. The Strikers ended up losing the match by six wickets to finish the tournament as runners-up.[54]
Although the Strikers failed to qualify for the2020–21 finals series, Coyte earned acclaim for her individual WBBL|06 exploits. Finishing with 18 wickets (the equal-most during the regular season) at an economy rate of 6.51, she excelled in the high-pressuredeath bowling role and was subsequently selected in the Team of the Tournament.[55]
On 30 December 2010, Coyte made her international debut in aTwenty20 againstNew Zealand atSaxton Oval. She took two wickets for 18 runs off four overs in the first innings as well effecting tworun outs. Then,batting down the order at eight, she scored 14not out in the second innings to help Australia win with just two balls remaining. Her outstanding debut was punctuated with Player of the Match honours.[56]
On 5 January 2011, Coyte played her firstOne Day International in a match againstEngland atthe WACA. A rain-affected encounter, she scored ten not out and took 1/44 off 7.3 overs with Australia winning by 33 runs (via theDuckworth–Lewis method).[57] Like her maiden T20I appearance, Coyte's ODI debut coincided with that of future Australian teamcaptainMeg Lanning.[56][57]
On 22 January 2011, Coyte made herTest debut in a match against England atBankstown Oval. Her only wicket of the game came in the second innings, dismissingHeather Knight vialbw for 19. Coyte also recorded the unenviable feat of making agolden duck in her first Test batting innings, though it ultimately proved trivial as Australia went on to win the match by seven wickets.[58]
On 23 June 2011, Coyte took career-best T20I bowling figures of 4/5 from four overs during an eight-wicket victory againstIndia at theToby Howe Cricket Ground.[59] Then, on 7 July 2011, she took career-best ODI bowling figures of 4/39 from ten overs during a quadrangular series final atSir Paul Getty's Ground. Despite her efforts, England still managed to win by 34 runs.[60] She finished with twelve wickets across Australia's four matches in the series, which also involved New Zealand and India, at anaverage of just 13.00.[61]
Coyte was selected as a member of Australia's squad for the2012 World Twenty20 inSri Lanka. However, she was unable to "keep any food down" while on tour and was sent home before the first match of the tournament. At the time, Coyte toldCricket Australia her illness was simply a case of "Delhi belly". Years later, she revealed she was actually suffering fromanorexia nervosa.[62]
In the second ODI of the 2012–13Rose Bowl series on 14 December, Coyte scored her only internationalhalf-century and finished on anunbeaten 51 from 54 deliveries to help Australia chase down New Zealand's total of 288 with four wickets in hand.[63]
Coyte reiterated her batting competency in a super-six match at the2013 Cricket World Cup against England on 8 February, top-scoring for Australia with 44 off 81 balls. The 82-runstand she put on withLisa Sthalekar helped the team recover from an early collapse to post a total of 147. In the second innings, Coyte took the wicket ofLaura Marsh to break a similarly significant 57-run partnership. Australia eventually bowled England out for 145 to win by two runs.[64] They went on to claim the world championship with a 114-run defeat of theWest Indies in the tournament's final.[65]
In the2014 World Twenty20 final, Coyte took 3/16 from four overs, which included claiming the top-order wickets ofCharlotte Edwards andSarah Taylor, to help restrict England to a first innings total of just 8/105. Australia chased down the target with six wickets and 29 balls to spare and would "coast"[66] to their third-consecutive T20 world championship, while Coyte was named Player of the Match.[67]
In the only Test of the2015 Women's Ashes series, Coyte claimed career-best match figures of 4/45 from 30.1 overs in a 161-run victory. Her economical bowling was paired with key breakthrough wickets, dismissing openerHeather Knight cheaply twice and removingKatherine Brunt for 39 (the top score for England in the first innings).[68] Australia went on to regain the Ashes during the T20I portion of the series through a 20-run win on 28 August at theCounty Ground in Hove, with Coyte taking 1/12 off four overs.[69]
Coyte was selected as a member of Australia's squad for the2016 World Twenty20, in which the team finished as runners-up, but she did not play a match throughout the tournament.[70][71] In March 2017, Coyte announced her retirement from all forms of international cricket at the age of 25, citing a need to seek better balance in her life to combat mental health issues.[21]
Coyte has a twin brother, Adam, who was a member of theSydney Thunder in theBig Bash League.[72][73][74] Her older brother,Scott Coyte, was also a member of the Thunder as well as making tenSheffield Shield appearances withNew South Wales.[75][76]
In February 2019, Coyte married her fiancé Bec Cady. The couple became foster parents of an eight-year-old boy in July 2019.[2] Despite legally taking on her wife's surname, Coyte is still more commonly referred to by her maiden name throughout the cricket community and in the media.[77][78][79][80][81][82][83] She claims not to have anickname.[84]
Since her late-teens, Coyte has suffered fromanorexia nervosa.[62] Her battle with the disorder manifested in severe weight loss while she also struggled withanxiety,depression and anobsessive training regimen. At one stage of her cricket career, she vomited after every meal for eight months.[2] Whilst touring theUnited Kingdom in 2015, Coyte resorted toexcessive alcohol intake: "I'm not proud of it but I was pretty much drunk every night trying to deal with it."[85] During a tour ofIndia, she slept three-to-four hours a night and consumed nothing more thanRed Bull,protein bars, and the occasional serve of steamed vegetables.[2]
Coyte lives inSpring Farm and, in addition to playing cricket, works as a personal trainer at a gym inCampbelltown. She has also worked full-time as a School Learning Support Officer at the Reiby Juvenile Justice Detention Centre.[40]
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Jess Jonassen was included in the original squad but withdrew due to injury; she was replaced by Renee Chappell. | ||
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