WA captain Chloe Piparo opens up on sudden passing of her Dad, admits it nearly cost her her love of cricket before she dug deep and became state skipper

When Chloe Piparo was appointed captain of Western Australia at just 23 years old, she had the cricket world at her feet. The pint-sized 160cm pocket rocket from Bunbury, who made her state debut as a 17-year-old, was small yet mighty. But when she’d assume the leadership position ahead of the 2018/19 season, it’d come with a huge hole in her heart: it was a position her Dad would never see her hold. WATCH THE FULL VIDEO IN THE PLAYER ABOVE “Being from the country the process of playing cricket in the UK was a bit daunting for me, so I got a bit of a push from Mum and Dad to go over and experience it,” Piparo said. “I went and played for Worcestershire in the division two a few years ago, which was a really good experience for the first few weeks and months. “Mum and Dad had planned a trip over in early July but in mid to late June I got a call from Mum just in the middle of the day that unfortunately Dad had passed away suddenly. “Within a couple of hours I was on a plane home to Perth and that was a really hard process to go through. “Dad obviously pushed me to go over and play cricket in the UK but there was a lot of regret that I wasn’t able to see him for a few months and then unfortunately he passed away, so it was really tough.” The sudden and unexpected heart attack that claimed Tony’s life deprived him of the chance to witness his daughter lead the Western Fury, but while he was around there was barely a game he missed. “I’ve got really fond memories of Dad coming to watch me play cricket, he was my biggest supporter and he travelled to everywhere we went,” Piparo reflected. “He’d wear his Scorchers hat or shirt and he was really proud of me and what I’d done. “It made getting the captaincy really tough and I guess everything I do now there’s a little bit of a hole in my heart because Dad’s not there to see me do it. “I know he’d be really proud of me and what I’ve done, but there’s a hole in my heart.” For Piparo the word ‘Dad’ was synonymous with cricket – and that initially made the game extremely difficult to return to. But the brave batter didn’t miss a match, instead opting to do it for her Dad until she rediscovered her love for the game. “At that stage I didn’t want to come back, I didn’t want to play. Everything I associated with cricket was through Dad,” Piparo admitted. “The new season came around and it was almost just like: ‘Why give this up because Dad’s not here to see me? He’s given me everything, it’s exactly what he wanted me to do and he’s led me down this path’. So it was almost like just play for him for a little bit and hopefully the passion comes back to play.” But it didn’t come back straight away. “I think it did take a while, I was pretty empty there,” Piparo said. “I didn’t feel a lot of emotion and a lot of love for cricket. “I’d look for Dad for support and he wasn’t there or I’d do something well and I wanted to share it with him and he wasn’t there. “I didn’t get a lot of comfort through cricket but at the same time it might’ve been the best thing that happened for me in my cricket because it’s just a game now to me. “I put a lot of pressure on performance and I had a lot of anxiety leading into games because I wanted to do well. “Now I’ve lost that a little which is only good I think. I look at it as just a game, if I do well that’s great but at the same time if I don’t there’s a hell of a lot more out there.” As well as support from her Mum and teammates, Piparo reads back on old Whatsapp messages from her Dad – telling her to keep it simple and watch the ball – when she’s in need of support. “He’d be pretty proud I think,” Piparo said. “He bought these wine bottles, they were Dennis Lillee, Rodney Hogg – there was six of them. “I remember he said we’d open a bottle when something good happened like when I make a hundred or if I played for Australia. “On the day it was announced I was captain I went home and opened one of these red wines for Dad. “That was a special moment. As much as it’s tough he’s not here to support me through it all, I know he’d be super proud of me.”

WA captain Chloe Piparo opens up on sudden passing of her Dad, admits it nearly cost her her love of cricket before she dug deep and became state skipper

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