Samantha Marie Betts (born 6 February 1996) is an Australian

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by str ...

er who plays for

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

. A native of Broken Hill, New South Wales, Betts won selection on the Scorpions' rookie list as a 17-year old schoolgirl for the 2012–13 season, after being spotted by former Australian international player

Shelley Nitschke Shelley Nitschke (born 3 December 1976) is a female cricketer who played for South Australia and Australia. A left-handed batter and left arm orthodox spinner, she was one of the leading all-rounders in the world until her retirement in 2011. In ...

. She had previously done "a fair bit of training and stuff with the guys at the West Broken Hill Cricket Club", and had played in a women's competition in Adelaide. As a Scorpions rookie, Betts continued to live and attend school in Broken Hill, while travelling to Adelaide once each week to train with the Scorpions. After making her Scorpions debut during the 2012–13 season, Betts steadily improved to become a mainstay bowler in the Scorpions squad, providing support for the team's strike bowler

Megan Schutt Megan Schutt (born 15 January 1993) is an Australian cricketer who has played for the national team as a medium-fast bowler since 2012. Domestically, she plays for the South Australian Scorpions, for whom she debuted in 2009, and, since 2015, ...

. She also worked heavily on her batting. In the 2015–16

Women's National Cricket League The Women's National Cricket League (WNCL) is the national domestic 50-over competition for women's cricket in Australia. Featuring seven teams—one from every state, plus the Australian Capital Territory—each season's winner is awarded the ...

competition, her best Scorpions bowling performance was 3/39 against

Victorian Spirit The Victoria Women cricket team, previously known as Victorian Spirit, is the women's representative cricket team for the Australian State of Victoria. They play their home games at Junction Oval, St Kilda, Melbourne. They compete in the Wome ...

. Betts was a member of the Adelaide Strikers' squad from its inaugural WBBL01 season (2015–16) until 2019. In 2016, she was awarded the

Adam Gilchrist Adam Craig Gilchrist (; born 14 November 1971) is an Australian cricket commentator and former international cricketer and captain of the Australia national cricket team. He was an attacking left-handed batsman and record-breaking wicket-ke ...

Cricket Scholarship to travel to the UK and represent

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English cities on its south coast, Southampton and Portsmouth, Hampshire ...

. The Scholarship, funded by the

Lord's Taverners The Lord's Taverners is the UK's leading youth cricket and disability sports charity. Its charitable objective is to empower and positively impact the lives of young people facing the challenges of inequality.'. It was founded in 1950 by a group ...

, is presented to the best female cricketer in Australia who is 21 or younger and grew up in rural Australia.

References

External links

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Samantha Betts
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Cricket Australia Cricket Australia (CA), formerly known as the Australian Cricket Board (ACB), is the governing body for professional and amateur cricket in Australia. It was originally formed in 1905 as the 'Australian Board of Control for International Crick ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Betts, Samantha 1996 births Adelaide Strikers (WBBL) cricketers Australian women cricketers Cricketers from South Australia Hampshire women cricketers Living people People from Orroroo, South Australia Perth Scorchers (WBBL) cricketers South Australian Scorpions cricketers