An international retreat was never on Nicola Careybut after her excellent form at domestic level saw her included in Australia’s white-ball squads to take on India, she returns with new strings added to her bow.
Carey was presented on Thursday as the 2026 National Women’s Player of the Year, rewarded for her outstanding performances with Tasmania and Hobart Hurricanes that also propelled her back into the Australian set-up.
Caoimhe Bray Meanwhile, Betty Wilson has been named 2026 Young Cricketer of the Year, while Josie Dooley has been honored with the Community Impact Award.
Carey, 32, had turned down a Cricket Australia contract in 2023, preferring to dedicate himself full-time to playing as many matches as possible for Tasmania rather than spending long periods on the road, mainly carrying drinks.
Speaking to cricket.com.au this week, Carey explained that it was never a move made with eventual retirement in mind, but rather she simply wanted to make the most of herself as a cricketer and contribute to Tasmania’s success.
However, when he received a call last month from national selector Shawn Flegler expressing his interest in returning to international cricket, the answer was “yes”.
“At the end of the day, (rejecting the contract) was honestly just about playing more games of cricket and I thought it was the best way to do it,” Carey said this week.
“I was very happy just doing what I was doing in domestic cricket and that took the pressure off me too – I didn’t have any expectations or set any big goals of trying to get here or get there playing good cricket, I just wanted to come back and play more cricket and see where that took me within the domestic competitions I was playing.
“It meant I could establish myself in cricket in Tasmania, have pre-seasons here and really invest in the program and be in the fold full-time and play every cricket match I was available for.
“That’s the most important thing. You spend a lot of time in the networks working on things, but the biggest learnings happen on the field and I think that’s what really helped me.”
Carey was voted by her peers as the best national player after dominating all three national competitions with bat and ball.
In 12 National Women’s Cricket League matches during the voting period, from 11 December 2024 to 13 December 2025: Carey scored 338 runs at an average of 30.73, which included a sensational century against Queensland, while with the ball she was just as damaging, taking 17 wickets at an average of 25.24.
In five games of the T20 Spring Challenge, Carey starred with the bat as he made 191 runs at an average of 47.75 and with the ball he took three wickets at an average of 34.67.
That brilliant form continued in Weber WBBL|11, where Carey made 186 runs at an average of 46.50 and took 10 wickets at an average of 25.60 as the Hurricanes claimed their first title.
But beyond the pure numbers, what was most impressive was the evolution of Carey’s all-around game, with his strike rate of 125 in the WBBL|11, a significant jump from 102.59. he had scored his runs in the previous 10 seasons.
Even more significant has been her development into a bowler new to the WNCL and WBBL, having spent her career up to that point specializing in the medium to death overs, and Carey revealed it had been a happy accident.
It means the all-rounder will return to the Australian set-up as a more three-dimensional player, capable of bowling in any phase if required, while making a big impact in a strong batting line-up.
“(Opening bowling) isn’t something I’ve done a lot of, and I think I fell into that last season, even more so in the WNCL space,” Carey said.
“I was playing the role of someone who wasn’t available… and I really enjoyed it.
“I’d always been in teams where we had all the starting bowlers covered. It was surprisingly quite fun and took me to the Big Bash this year, taking the new ball there.
“I still do media and a bit of death too.
“With the bat, I’ve probably become a bit clearer about what works for me and how I can approach T20 cricket, (I’ve) probably become more focused on that space and finding a role for myself playing for the Hurricanes.
“They’ve been really good to me in that space, I’ve had a lot of really good conversations about what my best role is on that team… I’ve worked on that quite a bit over the last few years. I’ve been lucky enough to play on a really good team.”
Bray attacks Betty Wilson’s gong
Ahead of the presentation of the Belinda Clark Award ahead of Sunday’s opening T20I against India, young Sixers player from New South Wales and Sydney Bray has also been named the 2026 Betty Wilson Young Cricketer of the Year.
In receiving the award, 16-year-old Bray joins a list of players who received the honor before turning 25 and went on to shine internationally, including the likes of inaugural winner and recently named Australia captain Sophie Molineux (2017), Georgia Wareham (2019) and Darcie Brown (2022).
One of Australia’s most exciting prospects, Bray took eight wickets at an average of 21.75 for the Sixers in Weber WBBL|11, with a standout performance against Sydney Thunder, where he took a hat-trick on his way to figures of 4-15 in four overs.
Unfortunately, his season was cut short when he suffered a recurrence of a stress fracture in his back, ending his 2025-26 season.
Bray made eight WNCL appearances during the voting period, scoring 71 runs at an average of 23.67 and taking eight wickets at an average of 25.38.
In the T20 Spring Challenge, he made 61 runs while taking three wickets at an average of 25.0 in his four matches for the Sixers.
To be eligible for the Young Cricketer of the Year Award, players must be 24 years of age or younger before the start of the award period and have not previously won the award. Prior to the award period, players must also have played 25 or fewer combined List A and T20 matches (domestic or international).
“It’s really a great privilege to know all the names that have been selected in the past for the award and to know where most of them are now – playing for Australia and playing in all the different tournaments overseas – it’s a pretty incredible achievement,” Bray said in a statement.
“It’s even more meaningful in that sense because it’s not voted on by coaches or other staff, it’s voted on by your teammates who you play with and against, and they really recognize your accomplishments, so it’s really wonderful to know that the people around me support me and I hope to see a future in what I can do.”
Meanwhile, Dooley has been named the winner of the Community Impact Award, which is awarded to a player who has gone above and beyond in charity or community work during the award period.
Dooley has made a significant impact in the community by raising awareness about stroke recovery through her Wave2Recovery account, which documents her own journey.
In her role as ambassador, Dooley helped the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital (RBWH) Appeal raise more than $50,000, while she also raised funds for the Stroke Foundation by taking part in the Bridge to Brisbane 5km walk.
“I’m definitely honored,” Dooley said in a statement.
“Raising money for the Stroke Foundation on the walk we did, and then for the RBWH Foundation (I’m an ambassador for them), so shedding light on all the work they do is obviously very close to me personally.
“The whole cricket community has been incredible in supporting me and helping me get through some pretty dark times.
“I’m very grateful to each and every one of my teammates who were always there for me and are still watching over me. I still feel very much a part of the game and I’m very grateful for all of them.”
NRMA Insurance Australia v India Multi-Format Series
Australia T20I Team: Sophie Molineux (c), Ashleigh Gardner (vc), Tahlia McGrath (vc), Darcie Brown, Nicola Carey, Kim Garth, Grace Harris, Phoebe Litchfield, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Annabel Sutherland, Georgia Voll, Georgia Wareham
India T20I Team: Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Smriti Mandhana (vc), Shafali Verma, Renuka Thakur, Sree Charani, Vaishnavi Sharma, Kranti Gaud, Sneh Rana, Deepti Sharma, Richa Ghosh, Uma Chetry, Arundhati Reddy, Amanjot Kaur, Jemimah Rodrigues, Bharti Fulmali, Shreyanka Patil
February 15: First T20, SCG, 7:15pm AEDT
February 19: Second T20, Manuka Oval, Canberra, 7:15pm AEDT
February 21: Third T20, Adelaide Oval, 7:15pm AEDT
Australia ODI Team: Alyssa Healy (c), Sophie Molineux (vc), Darcie Brown, Nicola Carey, Ashleigh Gardner, Kim Garth, Alana King, Phoebe Litchfield, Beth Mooney, Tahlia McGrath, Ellyse Perry, Annabel Sutherland, Georgia Voll, Georgia Wareham
India ODI Team: Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Smriti Mandhana (vc), Shafali Verma, Renuka Thakur, Sree Charani, Vaishnavi Sharma, Kranti Gaud, Sneh Rana, Deepti Sharma, Richa Ghosh, Kashvee Gautam, Amanjot Kaur, Jemimah Rodrigues, Uma Chetry, Harleen Deol
February 24: First ODI, Allan Border Field, Brisbane, 2:50 pm AEDT
February 27: Second ODI, Bellerive Oval, Hobart, 2:50 pm AEDT
March 1: Third ODI, Bellerive Oval, Hobart, 2:50 pm AEDT
Australia Test Team: Alyssa Healy (c), Sophie Molineux (vc), Darcie Brown, Ashleigh Gardner, Kim Garth, Lucy Hamilton, Alana King, Phoebe Litchfield, Beth Mooney, Tahlia McGrath, Ellyse Perry, Annabel Sutherland, Georgia Voll, Georgia Wareham
India Test Team: Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Smriti Mandhana (vc), Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Richa Ghosh, Deepti Sharma, Renuka Singh, Sneh Rana, Amanjot Kaur, Uma Chetry, Pratika Rawal, Harleen Deol, Kranti Gaud, Vaishnavi Sharma, Sayali Satghare
March 6-9: Test match, WACA Ground, 4:20 pm AEDT (D/N)
