Sarah Joy Andrews (born 26 December 1981) is a retired female cricketer who played for Australia from 2006 to early 2010. She was a right-arm fast bowler and a right-handed lower-order batsman.
After playing in the Second XI in 2000–01, Andrews made her debut for New South Wales in the 2001–02 Women's National Cricket League (WNCL). In her debut season, she was dropped multiple times and not given much of a workload with the ball. She took five wickets and was omitted for the first half of the next season before ending with six wickets despite never bowling a full quota of overs. At the end of the summer, she was selected for the Australian Under-23 team.
In 2003–04, Andrews played a full season for the first time and took seven wickets. In the second final against Victoria, she bowled a full quota of overs for the first time, in her 21st match. On an Under-23 tour of Sri Lanka, she made her first-class debut against the hosts' senior team, taking four wickets. Andrews had a poor 2004–05 WNCL, taking only five wickets, and then started the following season poorly, taking only three wickets in the first six matches. She took career-best figures of 5/16 and followed it with 3/45 the next day, both against Victoria. She then took 3/32 in the first final against Queensland and ended with five for the finals series as New South Wales won the first of five consecutive titles.
Andrews ended with 16 wickets for the tournament and was rewarded with selection for the national team, making her Test and One Day International (ODI) debut at the end of the season against India. She took 2/48 on her Test debut and 3/21 in her first ODI. After taking ten wickets in her first six ODIs, Andrews took 15 wickets in New South Wales' 2006–07 WNCL win. She struggled during a quadrangular series on the spin-friendly pitches of India and was used only sporadically, taking three wickets in four matches, but returned to form in the home Rose Bowl series against New Zealand, taking nine wickets in five matches. In 2007–08, Andrews was in and out of the Australian team and played in six ODIs, taking seven wickets. She was then dropped for the home series against India at the start of the 2008–09 season and was responded by taking 13 wickets in the WNCL to earn a recall. Andrews made sporadic appearances in the Rose Bowl series ahead of the 2009 World Cup, in which she played in four of Australia's seven matches, taking five wickets as Australia came fourth. She was selected for the 2009 World Twenty20 in England, and played in all of Australia's four matches, taking two wickets. In the subsequent bilateral series hosted by England, Andrews took her career best figures of 4/50 and ended with eight ODI wickets.
Andrews took 14 wickets in the 2009–10 WNCL as New South Wales won again, and in the following Rose Bowl series, she bowed out of competitive cricket with ten wickets in seven ODIs as Australia swept the series.
Early career
In January 2000, Andrews played for New South Wales in Under-19 interstate championships. She took 11 wickets at 6.00, with a best of 4/13 in the qualifying match against Victoria. New South Wales won all of their seven matches, defeating Victoria in the final. New South Wales' batting was rarely challenged by their outclassed opposition, so Andrews was only required to bat three times in the lower-order, scoring 15 runs at 7.50. She also took six catches.
In 2000–01, Andrews played in three Second XI fixtures for New South Wales. She scored a total of 19 runs in three brief innings that all ended in not outs, and took two wickets at 38.50 and an economy rate of 3.34.
Domestic debut
Andrews made her senior debut for New South Wales in the 2001–02 Women's National Cricket League, playing in seven matches, all of which ended in victory. Although she was a specialist bowler who batted at the end of the tail and was never required in matches during the season, she was not entrusted with a substantial workload with the ball, sending down an average of only four overs per match. She took 0/10 from five overs in her debut against South Australia, before taking her maiden wickets in the second match of the double-header, claiming 2/7 from three overs. She took only one wicket in the next two matches against Queensland and was dropped for the double-header against Western Australia, before being recalled for the last two round-robin matches against Victoria. She did not bowl in the first, and took 1/17 from six overs in the next. The two teams met again in the finals series, and Andrews was dropped for the first match, before being recalled and taking 1/16 from four overs in the next match as New South Wales won their sixth title in a row with a 2–0 triumph. Andrews ended her first season with five wickets at 16.80 and an economy rate of 3.00.
At the end of the season, Andrews was selected for Australia Youth team to play against New Zealand and New Zealand A. She bowled her full quota of 30 overs in three matches, taking three wickets at 19.00 at an economy rate of 1.90. She also scored 21 runs at 21.00 in three innings. Her best performance was 2/13 in the last match against the senior New Zealand team.
The following season, Andrews missed the first four matches of the WNCL. She took 3/18 in her second match of the season against Queensland and took one wicket in the three other group matches. In the first final against Victoria, Andrew took 0/15 from four overs in a three-wicket defeat. She was dropped for the second final, which Victoria won to end New South Wales' six-year run. Andrews ended with six wickets at 14.83 at an economy rate of 3.17 and scored 3 runs at 3.00. She averaged less than six overs a match. At the end of the summer, she played for the Australian Under-23 team against England; she took a total of 0/47 from 19 overs in a two-innings match and scored 21 in Australia's only innings.
In 2003–04, Andrews played her first full season in the WNCL, taking to the field in all 11 of New South Wales' matches. She took only five wickets in the first five matches, including figures of 2/30 from seven overs in a tie against Victoria. She then went wicketless in the last three fixtures of the round-robin stage. In the first final against defending champions Victoria, she took 0/18 from five overs in a six-wicket defeat. She was retained for the second final despite the four consecutive wicketless matches, and took 2/28 from her ten overs to set up a five-wicket win. This was the first time in her 21 WNCL matches that Andrews had bowled a full quota of overs. In the deciding final, she was taken out of the attack after being hit for 17 runs in three overs; New South Wales ended up winning by three wickets to regain the WNCL title. Andrews ended the season with seven wickets at 36.14 at an economy rate of 3.51 and eight runs at 8.00.
Andrews was selected for the Australia Youth team to play New Zealand A at the end of the season. She took three wickets at 35.00 at an economy rate of 3.00, and hit 54 in a six-wicket defeat in the fourth and final match of the series. Before the 2004–05 season started, Andrews toured Sri Lanka in September as part of the Australian Under-23s to play against the hosts' national team. Australia won three of the four one-dayers, the other was washed-out. Andrews took six wickets at 13.00, including 3/44 in the second match, and scored 10 not out and 31 not out in her only innings. The tour ended with a first-class match against the Sri Lankan team. Andrews took 3/24 and 1/11 in a 144-run win. She also made seven and a duck on her first-class debut.
Andrews had a quiet and ineffective 2004–05 WNCL season, taking only five wickets at 44.80 at an economy rate of 3.01 from ten matches. Her best performance came in a round-robin match against Victoria, taking 2/29 in a four-wicket defeat. The teams met again in the finals. In the first match, she took 0/30 from nine overs in a 21-run win. The second match saw a fightback from the Victorian bowlers, who dismissed New South Wales for 71, Andrews making 19 not out in a tail-wagging performance. She then took 1/10 from six overs but Victoria reached their target with five wickets in hand to square the series. Andrews took 0/11 from six overs to help restrict Victoria to 6/159, but she made only one before being run out as the defending champions fell 50 runs short and ceded their title. Andrews ended the season with 23 runs at 23.00.
The 2005–06 season started poorly for Andrews. She went wicketless in the first three matches, and took only three wickets in the first six matches. Her form turned around in the last two round-robin matches against Victoria. In the first match, having made ten with the bat, she took 5/16, her career best bowling performance, as New South Wales won by 48 runs. The next day, she took 3/45, helping to set up a five-wicket victory. New South Wales faced Queensland in the finals. In the first match, she took 3/35 to dismiss Queensland for 174, setting up a ten-wicket win. In the second final the following day, she made nine not out as New South Wales collapsed to be all out for 154. She took 1/32 from 10 overs as Queensland squared the series with a three-wicket victory. In the last final, Andrews could only make one as New South Wales capitulated to be all out for 146. She then took 1/18, taking the final wicket by bowling Megan White as New South Wales took a thrilling two-run win, sealing the WNCL title. Andrews ended with 20 runs at 10.00 and 16 wickets at 18.81 at an economy rate of 3.48.
International debut
Andrews was rewarded with selection for Australia for the home series against India held in Adelaide at the end of the season. She made her debut in the one-off Test at the Adelaide Oval, and came in at No. 11 after Australia batted first. she made three from six balls before being run out as the hosts made 250. Opening the bowling with Cathryn Fitzpatrick, she took 2/29 from nine overs in the first innings. She had opener Monica Sumra caught by Karen Rolton in her second over, and then trapped the other opener Karu Jain for 21 to leave the Indians at 2/41. In the following over, without further addition to the score, Andrews took her maiden Test catch to dismiss leading Indian batsman and captain Mithali Raj from the bowling of Fitzpatrick. The Indians eventually collapsed to be all out for 93. Australia enforced the follow on and Andrews took 0/19 from 17 overs and caught Sunetra Paranjpe in the second innings as the tourists lost by an innings. After missing the first ODI, she made her debut in the second match, coming in at No. 11 and scoring four not out from seven balls in Australia's 173 all out. She then took 3/21 from six overs to help secure a 12-run win. In the next match she took 1/33 in a nine-wicket win and ended the series with four wickets at 13.50 and an economy rate of 3.33. Andrews is the 148th woman to play Test cricket for Australia, and the 106th woman to play One Day International cricket for Australia.
At the start of the 2006–07 season, Andrews made her Twenty20 international debut against New Zealand at the Allan Border Field in Brisbane, having never played in the format at domestic level. She was attacked by the opposition batsmen, ending with 1/42 from four overs in a tied match. The rest of the Australians conceded their runs at 6.18 per over. After missing the first ODI, she returned to take two wickets in each of the next three matches before going wicketless in the fifth match. She ended with six wickets at 24.50 at the relatively high economy rate of 4.59; Australia won all of the last four matches. The second ODI was a close call as Australia won by one wicket from the penultimate ball of the match. Andrews came in upon the fall of the eighth wicket and scored two from three balls before being run out, but Karen Rolton and Clea Smith saw Australia to victory.