Rally 'round: Chinelle Henry's journey from Jamaica to the WBBL – cricket.com.au

Set for her Big Bash debut, proud Jamaican Chinelle Henry has arrived in Australia with a point to prove and plenty of people to play for
“If I can inspire a girl every day I step out on that field, I’m really happy with that.”
That’s just one part of Chinelle Henry’s motivation as she makes her Weber WBBL debut on Sunday, and considering the hardship she’s been through to get here, it’ll be one special moment for the 30-year-old Jamaican.
The Brisbane Heat’s newest international has not had a linear journey with cricket, which is why this Big Bash campaign is so significant for the big-hitting West Indian.
“To get a chance to just be here and play in this competition with great people is obviously a huge opportunity,” said Henry.
“It’s one of the major leagues around the world that really supports women’s cricket.
“It’s my first time (playing in this competition) and I don’t want to make it my last.”
While sport has always been a love of Henry’s, it took cricket a while to make an impression on her.
Struggling to find all-girls sports clubs and competitions in Jamaica, Henry found herself drawn to track and field events growing up, not dissimilar to the many Olympic icons the country has produced in athletics throughout her lifetime.
Remembering the likes of Merlene Ottey and Veronica Campbell Brown as her heroes to watch running, Henry would later be given the opportunity to go to ‘one of the best schools in Jamaica’ to pursue her passion for sprinting.
On the other hand, there was soccer, a sport that also offered the multi-talented athlete another chance to represent her country.
So where did cricket fit in all of this? Well, as a young girl entering primary school, not too highly if you ask Chinelle Henry herself.
“Cricket was not really on the agenda,” said Henry.
“My dad used to just enjoy playing on weekends, backyard (cricket) stuff, with people just on a Sunday.
From a Sunday sport to a professional sport, Henry said it was her ‘curiosity’ around proving a point to her father that would fuel a fire for her love of the sport.
“He would always yell at me, ‘Everything is hard about cricket’,” said Henry as she recounted her earliest memories playing the game.
“Part of me just thought, ‘maybe it’s not so hard, like you’re saying it’.
“Then I got really intrigued, and I started doing it. I started playing with the boys in primary school … so it was like, track and field, soccer and cricket.”
Now came the juggle, and three sports is certainly that.
Knowing that she couldn’t handle them all, the initial choice was track having accepted an offer to Ocho Rios High School.
“I remember I got the call and my dad was like,’ Yeah, we’re going to the school. You got accepted, and we’re going to do track,” said Henry.
“I was really excited, because that was literally my passion growing up. Track was something that I always wanted to do.
“If I’m being honest, just the constant waking up at 4am in the morning …and then I’d be constantly tired for class. I just called him, and I’m like, ‘I just don’t want to do this anymore’. He was that person who actually supported me regardless.”
Now as a 13-year-old, it was down to cricket or soccer, another sport the Jamaican was very handy at, having played with Manchester City star Khadija ‘Bunny’ Shaw.
Taking the opportunity to play cricket against boys in a ‘mini league’ competition, Henry re-lived the day she first met former Jamaican women’s national team coach, Cleon Smith.
“I can remember the boys just bowling at me… bowling soft and stuff, recalls Henry, giggling as she recites her memories from that day.
“I was just like, ‘Y’all could just do it, like, I’m not afraid’.
“Then the national coach at the time saw me, and he was like, ‘I want you to come in for a trial for the cricket team’.”

One summer later, an appreciation for cricket had grown, and she was getting better and better.
It left a now 14-year-old Henry in a difficult position, and when the governing bodies of both sports called her in consecutive days, it was time to make a definitive decision.
“JFF called me, which is Jamaica Football Federation, (and said) you’re selected to go represent Jamaica,” Henry explained.
“Then the next day, JCA called me, which is Jamaica Cricket Association.
“I was conflicted… this game is new. I’m just starting to get to know it.
“I made the decision without even talking to my family. I was like, ‘Yeah, I’m going to accept to go play cricket’. And I think from then, it just kind of like worked out.”
Having now moved high schools to accommodate her cricket aspirations, Henry’s rise up the ranks would be rapid and relentless.
As a 17-year-old, the teenage sensation made her West Indies debut in a T20 international against England in October 2013. Four months later, she’d make her ODI debut on a tour of New Zealand.
Setbacks and injuries followed leaving the Jamaican disinterested and disengaged with a sport she had so much success with at such an early age.
“I had a really bad injury, and then I was dropped from the team eventually,” said Henry as she remembered a pivotal point in her career.
“It took me probably three or four years to really get back into playing. I chose something that really didn’t want to choose me, (and I) just forgot about it. I didn’t want to play anymore.
“Then I can remember I was in college, and I got a call.”
It’s this call in 2019 that the energetic and entertaining character recounts as a pivotal turning point in her career.
The West Indies Cricket Board recalled Henry for a training camp, and a central contract followed.
Shocked and surprised, the bowling allrounder was determined to ensure her second coming to the Windies side would be long and profound stay in maroon.
“They said I was selected to be a part of the West Indies camp, and I was just like, ‘this doesn’t make sense’,” Henry recalls.
“I wasn’t really playing, I was out… and then that was the year I made a promise to myself, if this is something that I really am going to do, then just probably suck it up and just do what’s required.
“I think 2019 really was kind of a wake-up call, like a turning point.
Since then, consistent international cricket has come for the powerful West Indian, who detailed the changes in her preparation and the impact that’s had on her cricket.
“That’s when I started getting proper training and I started getting my body right, eating habits (and) stuff like that,” said Henry.
“Things just started looking up after that. The past 16 or 18 months have been really good to me.
“I just like beating odds, if I’m being honest.”
Recruited by the Brisbane Heat in the WBBL|11 Draft, the Big Bash will be the third domestic T20 league Henry has participated in. Having played four editions of the Women’s Carribean Premier League, Henry also made her debut in the Women’s Premier League in India earlier this year.
Acquired by the UP Warriorz as an injury replacement for Australian captain Alyssa Healy, Henry scored 163 runs and took 6 wickets across the tournament.
Now she hopes to follow in the footsteps of two fellow West Indian women who’ve had significant success in the WBBL, Hayley Matthews and Deandra Dottin. As influential members of the Renegades’ successful WBBL|10 campaign, Henry is fully aware of the impact those two players have had on the competition.
“Having those two play in the Big Bash has been really good for women’s sport in the Caribbean, because obviously if they can do it, you can too,” said Henry.
“To have them in this competition is to kind of pave the pathway for us back home to see that actually, there’s a lot more out there for female cricketers.
“I’m here now, and it’s good to see that girls back home watching, they could be the next ones to actually go to Australia to participate in the WBBL and actually make West Indies proud.”
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Making sure women and girls have opportunities to play cricket remains a substantial reason as to why Henry wants to keep playing the game.
While the likes of Brian Lara and Curtly Ambrose helped her understand and be entertained by the sport, Henry wants to be the source of inspiration for future generations of West Indian female cricketers.
“A female, just walking up to me (and) they want to play cricket, that really gives me, you know, just another drive to actually make them proud,” said Henry.
“To be a part of this generation, representing women in sports is really good.
“I still want to see women’s cricket or women’s sport in general, continue in that part and continue to be massive.”
While the Brisbane Heat international is excited about the growth of the women’s game, her fans are certainly eager to see her take on the Melbourne Renegades on Sunday.
“I’ve already got a lot of texts, a lot of emails, and I’m like, I haven’t played yet, just calm down a bit,” said Henry as she thought about her friends back home.
“We just had a major setback, but I’m here to stand tall, represent my country, represent the region, and just make Jamaica proud.”
That major setback was Hurricane Melissa, a Category 5 hurricane that ravaged parts of Jamaica with winds of up to 298kph causing deaths, while destroying homes and businesses.
In what has no doubt been a tough time for her and her compatriots, Henry spoke on the toll of the last two weeks since the hurricane reached her homeland.
“It’s really sad with what’s happened to the country,” said Henry.
“Every time I picked up my phone, I would go on social media. It’s just always about the disaster. (With) training, the girls would really try to make it fun, you know, just to clear the head.
“I’ve had friends and teammates who’ve lost a lot in the hurricane… and obviously not much I could do to help them.
“It was a really hard one to swallow when I got here.”
With her country in her thoughts as she makes her first WBBL appearance, Henry enters the Big Bash knowing how much more there is to life outside of cricket – and while her path to the WBBL has been unpredictable and uncommon, her passion to perform and do her country proud is both unwavering and undeniable.
“Being here and representing the (Brisbane) Heat, just being a part of WBBL, is something really huge for me, because those are goals that I set up for myself personally,” said the proud Jamaican.
“It’s just about showing up and showing out. That’s just always been my philosophy, and I always tell myself, just try to enjoy it, because when I do, that’s when I really look like I belong.
“Whatever is happening back home, I was able to come here, show up, show out, and have a wonderful WBBL.”
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