‘We will never forget’: How one player’s courage became the Renegades’ defining moment

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It’s April 2024, and Josie Dooley is on a surfing holiday in Hawaii on the island of Kauai. The 24-year-old Melbourne Renegades cricketer then spent the next 93 days in hospital.

A catastrophic stroke left the Queenslander on the verge of death, and when that danger slowly passed, the wicketkeeper needed to relearn basic functions such as eating and walking.

Cricketer Josie Dooley’s inspiring recovery from a massive stroke.

Behind her in her gruelling recovery were her family and friends, and her Renegades teammates, who won their maiden Women’s Big Bash League title while Dooley progressed from the hospital bed to being able to run. She was on the bench to share that glorious moment, and as the new WBBL season opens on Sunday for the Renegades against the Heat in Brisbane, she is again a powerful source of inspiration for her teammates as they prepare to defend their title.

Dooley, now 25, has been open in sharing her experience through regular social media updates, and in a new documentary, Rise of the Renegades, following the team’s victorious WBBL campaign which was launched on Thursday night and is showing on 7Plus and Kayo.

“They worked out I had fluid on the brain, but that was caused by a benign tumour on my brain stem which was probably sitting there for years,” Dooley told the documentary. “It had got to the stage where it had grown and blocked the ventricles.

“They got a plane to fly me to Honolulu but when I got on the plane, that was when I had the stroke. I went into heart and lung failure, they actually took me off the plane. The hospital I was going to thought I wasn’t going to make it, but my doctor [on the island] said they would just have to hope they could work a miracle when I got there.”

After 18 days in intensive care, and a further 28 days in hospital in Hawaii, she could be medically evacuated to Brisbane to continue her recovery – more time in hospital, and intensive therapy as she rebuilt herself.

And the Renegades kept Dooley close throughout last season, even though she was in Brisbane. Her jersey, decorated with the phrase “Don’t f---k it up”, which was taken from a golf ball sent to her early in her recovery, hung in the dressing room for every game, including the final.

“It was really motivational to me, it kept me going,” Dooley told this masthead. “When I first came home to Australia, five or six of the girls came to visit me in hospital. They definitely kept me going through those tough times.

“Just to be there at games with them was so special – the thing that I missed the most was being part of a team, not as much the cricket, but being part of a team.

Renegades captain Sophie Molineux and coach Simon Helmot savour their team’s rags-to-riches victory.

“So being back with the girls on the field made me feel a part of it. I’m very blessed to have that support from them and the wider cricket community.”

One poignant moment in the documentary shows Dooley, in sunglasses, clearly overcome with emotion while watching the tense conclusion to the match. Her nearest teammate had her arm around her for support as Dooley collected herself.

Renegades coach Simon Helmot reflected on Dooley’s journey on Thursday night, memories that are “very emotional when I speak about that, only because it was quite a heavy season”.

“We ensured we engaged Josie in the team as much as possible and the girls absolutely love and adore her,” he said.

“She’s so passionate and enthusiastic. We had a catch-up meeting today, and it turned into a strategy meeting about our opposition, our team, and what we need to do this season. She’s so invested and loves talking cricket.”

Dooley has continued to make huge strides in her recovery; she even made an “unexpected” return to cricket for two overs of a Twenty20 first-grade match for Sturt while visiting friends in Adelaide recently. She had also played for South Australia before her stroke.

“One of my impairments that I still have is with my vision, so that makes it difficult,” Dooley said. “The goal is to get back to cricket. We are not sure in what capacity, but I’ll keep on pushing, and hopefully, my vision will improve a little bit.

“I had the ball hit to me like five times. They had me fielding at point and midwicket – I couldn’t field there beforehand. So when you can’t see, and you are put at point – it’s a little bit terrifying.”

Dooley will compete in her first para athletics meet this weekend in Brisbane, and she is training three days a week with the Queensland Academy of Sport’s para athletics unit, in shot put and table tennis. It is her first shot put competition, and Dooley will be with the Renegades at Allan Border Field on Sunday, no doubt with a report on how she went.

Helmot says his “coach’s advisor” remains a vital part of the team’s fabric, and her teammates take great strength from her infectious enthusiasm.

“We will never forget how important she was in our campaign and her off-field inspiration,” Helmot said.

“But it’s great to see her now, she’s moved on from that. The stroke has been and gone, and she’s living her best life and doing some really cool things.

“She’s always going to be a Renegade and part of the fabric of our family.”

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