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Why WA superstar Alana King plays cricket and lives her life off the field with a smile on her face

Spotting Alana King sporting a frown is just about an impossible task, because she has so many reasons to smile. Across men’s and women’s cricket, the 30-year-old is undoubtedly Australia’s best leg-spinner since the late, great Shane Warne. In total, the adopted Sandgroper — who moved from Victoria to WA in 2020 — has collected 135 wickets across 96 international appearances while spending plenty of time as the ICC’s No.1-ranked One-Day International bowler. At the age of 12, King was among a group of schoolchildren told by Warne at a clinic to “spin the ball as hard as you can and do it with a smile on your face”. She has lived her life by both mantras since. The fact her side wins just about every game they play gives her grin constant chances to shine through — but even still, whenever she is in ‘Australian gold’ or wearing her baggy green, she never looks anything but joyful and jovial. When asked if she believed her on-field persona was an accurate reflection of what she was like off the field, King told The West Australian she had no reason to change when going between guises. “If you ask any of my teammates, I definitely like to have a lot of fun,” King said. “If you speak to them, they’d say I’m very easy-going, very chill. “Being in this environment does show the best in me. I think I’m a fun, vibrant, energetic character away from the field as well, and this group definitely gives me a lot of energy to showcase that. “It’s the best job in the world and the best group in the world . . . to play with some of my best mates, travel the world, playing a game I love, I don’t think it gets much better than that.” Although the growth of women’s cricket is increasing the demands placed on its players, the game makes up only a small part of who King is as a person. In 2023, she began The Alana’s Project, an initiative designed to support girls as they balance playing cricket with completing their education. Alongside her brother Marc, she co-founded coffee company The Social Roast — which donates half of their profits to causes such as the one she champions — earlier this year. The charities she has given her time and leveraged her profile to work with over the course of her career include UNICEF, Foodbank WA and Maddie Riewoldt’s Vision. King said the cause of keeping girls involved in sport was particularly close to her heart, and she took her responsibilities as a role model to the next generation of aspiring athletes with the utmost seriousness. “Cricket, like all sports, is getting expensive to get kids involved, so (The Alana’s Project) is about aiding families in taking that financial barrier away,” she said. “UNICEF are doing incredible things with girls all around the world and making sure that cricket is accessible to them, no matter where they are in the world. They’ve been incredible, in terms of paving the way for that. “Hopefully, with both of those things, we can keep kicking goals and getting girls involved in the sport I absolutely love and am passionate about — but it’s not just that, it’s trying to get young girls to stay healthy and lead an active lifestyle. “I’m just trying to lead by example and show you can have fun playing with your mates.” King is unequivocal in her belief that having passions outside of the game has been hugely beneficial for her on-field performance. “Cricket can consume you; it can get pretty full on, and we know that, especially in tournament play or on big tours,” she said. “Me having that balance away from the field, whether it’s my coffee business or getting on the golf course or doing things away from the game, I get energy from all these other things I get to do. “I think that’s the biggest thing I’ve learnt in the last three, four years.” If everything goes according to plan, King’s cricket career still has plenty of years left to run. Warne played his last Test at the age of 37 and continued to feature in Twenty20 competitions all the way through until he was 43. After initially jokingly bristling at the question of what her post-playing career could look like — “Why are you asking me that for,”, she inquired through a healthy laugh — she said she remained open to all possibilities. “I do love helping people. I think that’s one of my biggest strengths and something I’m passionate about,” King said. “I’ve dabbled in commentating, which has been really fun and a bit insightful as well. “I’ve loved coaching as well — my first ever job as a 15-year-old was a tennis coach, so I think coaching’s always been a passion of mine. “I don’t know if I’m going to go down that path, but hopefully, when we’re having this conversation in 10 years time, I’ve got that figured out. In the meantime, I’m pretty happy bowling some leg-spin and whacking a few for Australia.”

exclusiveWhy WA superstar Alana King plays cricket and lives her life off the field with a smile on her face

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Why WA superstar Alana King plays cricket and lives her life off the field with a smile on her face