An unexpected Hundred appearance in Leeds last year helped propel Nicola Carey into Australia’s T20 World Cup calculations
Nicola Carey’s life these days looks pretty different to when she first arrived in Leeds nine months ago.
Last August, the allrounder received a late call up to The Hundred, replacing an injured Georgia Wareham at the Northern Superchargers.
It was Carey’s first appearance in an overseas league since her stint with Welsh Fire in 2022, and she made an immediate impact with a middle-order cameo of 25no off 15 in her first game at Headingley.
After her contributions with bat and ball helped the Superchargers into the finals, Carey smacked 35no from 25 balls at Lord’s in the decider to be named player of the final.
The months since have been a whirlwind for the 32-year-old, who would go on to play a crucial role in the Hobart Hurricanes’ first WBBL title in late 2025, before being snapped up by Mumbai Indians in the 2026 Women’s Premier League auction.
That run culminated in a recall to the Australian team ahead of February’s multi-format series against India and a subsequent national contract offer in April, marking a full-circle moment for Carey who turned down a CA deal in 2023 in order to focus on domestic cricket.
Her success in The Hundred also helped push her case for selection in Australia’s T20 World Cup squad, where she beat out players including fellow allrounder Heather Graham and quick Darcie Brown for a spot in the final 15.
“It definitely wasn’t on my radar,” Carey said of finding herself back in Leeds for the World Cup.
“I guess I got a little bit lucky (last year) – unfortunately, Wolfie (Wareham) got injured, and that presented an opportunity for me.
“It’s pretty crazy to think back 12 months ago, coming over here and just filling in for a couple of weeks, and what that’s led to has been pretty crazy when I look back on it.
“I’m very excited to be here … I’ve settled in a bit more now.
“The group’s been great, it’s been a whole lot of fun to be back and I’m really enjoying it, and it’s obviously really exciting to be at the World Cup, these are the tournaments you want to be a part of.”
On Monday, Carey returned to Headingley fresh off her first T20 World Cup appearance since 2020.
The dominance of Australia’s spinners against South Africa at Old Trafford meant she was not required with the ball, while she chipped in down the order with an unbeaten 13 batting at No.8.
“We’ve got such a long batting lineup, and we speak about it all the time, that anyone can go in there and do the job … we used a few batters the other day, and it was nice to get some time out there,” Carey said.
On Wednesday, Australia will meet Bangladesh for just the sixth time in a T20I, with the Tigresses expected to roll out a spin-heavy attack on what is expected to be a good batting deck.
Australia’s full squad trained at Headingley on Monday, in their first outdoor hit out since June 7 after Manchester’s wet weather kept them indoors.
“We don’t really play them too often, but we had a look at their team yesterday, and they line up a little bit different to what we had against South Africa, and taking the conditions (into account) as well, they’ll be a different opposition altogether,” Carey said of Bangladesh.
ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026
Australia squad: Sophie Molineux (c), Ashleigh Gardner (vc), Tahlia McGrath (vc), Nicola Carey, Kim Garth, Lucy Hamilton, Grace Harris, Alana King, Phoebe Litchfield, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Annabel Sutherland, Georgia Voll, Georgia Wareham. Travelling reserve: Tahlia Wilson
Australia’s Group 1 fixtures
June 13: beat South Africa by 65 runs
June 17: v Bangladesh, Headingley, Leeds, 7:30pm AEST
June 20: v Netherlands, Rose Bowl, Hampshire, 7:30pm AEST
June 24: v Pakistan, Headingley, Leeds, 3:30am AEST
June 28: v India, Lord’s, London, 11:30pm AEST
Semi-final 1: The Oval, London, June 30, 11:30pm AEST
Semi-final 2: The Oval, London, July 2 (3:30am July 3 AEST)
Final: Lord’s, London, July 5, 11:30pm AEST
Click here for the full tournament schedule
All matches will be broadcast on Amazon’s Prime Video
