Nicole Faltum is a wicketkeeper's wicketkeeper. She can break down and put back together elements of her game in detail, be it the technicalities of being behind the stumps or the tactical nuances in front of them. She is also sharp when it comes to rationing her attention for the right elements.
Having batted in every position, she has enjoyed promotions in the batting order, and shown the responsibility and the ability to score consistently as it helps her contribute with match-winning performances and have an impact on games. And yet, like many female cricketers, she has had to learn just how good she is from reliable external sources.
"I probably still struggle with it now, to be honest," 25-year-old Faltum tells ESPNcricinfo about her confidence levels, particularly with the bat. "You always know that you can do something, but every athlete, and every female athlete, especially, at times, really struggles with their self-confidence, and probably you don't realise how talented or how good you are until other people tell you, or you get the backing from other people. I think everybody struggles with it. Probably their whole careers, to be fair."
While batting has made her a mainstay for Melbourne Renegades, it was her wicketkeeping that got her into Melbourne Stars back in WBBL 2017-18. In her first two seasons, she took five catches and effected ten stumpings.
She credits her success to the bowlers, like Alana King, whom Faltum kept to in her early days, as well as strength and conditioning coach Richard Johnson, former Renegades assistant coach Adam Crosthwaite and current high-performance manager Wade Seccombe for her evolution.
Over time, she has honed a customised keeping technique combining Australian and English styles. The English style involves "standing back from the stumps, they're quite tall," Faltum says.
"They don't really go into that deep squat and don't have heaps of footwork, where traditionally [in the] Australian style, [you're] getting down really low to the floor, getting your hands on the ground in a deep squat, and then having lots of footwork. I've tried to hybrid those two techniques, and just try and find one that is really efficient and works for me."
Her technique factors in variables for fingerspinners and wristspinners, and her priority is to make space for herself and let her reflexes do the rest.
"The way that I try to approach it is just expecting and wanting the ball," Faltum says. "When you're keeping to legspinners, you're thinking it's going to beat the outside edge a lot more and probably anticipating the ball [in that direction], but then, to the offspinners, it's probably more likely to come through the gate or beat the inside edge. So, [you're] just preparing yourself for all the different scenarios. But, at the end of the day, it's really just watching and reacting.
"A lot of it is reflex, and just being able to react to that bounce. Your set-up and your technique does help a fair bit with that. In my opinion, there's so many different styles and types of keeping, and there's so many different ways of doing it. My technique is just all about creating space. So if my set-up allows me to be able to move and create space for bounce, but then it also allows me to get low balls or wide balls, then, yeah, I think that'll hold you in good stead."
"My technique is just all about creating space. So if my set-up allows me to be able to move and create space for bounce, but then it also allows me to get low balls or wide balls, then, yeah, I think that'll hold you in good stead" Nicole Faltum on her wicketkeeping style
It has been a long journey from when she debuted for Stars as a "specialist fielder" in 2017. She batted at No. 9, a fact she recalls with a chuckle. At the time, she was "excited just to play, and finally live out my dream."
Cut to the previous WBBL season, where Faltum scored 136 runs at a strike rate of 134. She backed that up to become the fourth-highest scorer for Renegades this season. She was also promoted to open against Sydney Sixers in Renegades' final game of 2025 with their season on the line. While she didn't click on the day, the fact that she was promoted shows the faith her captain and coach have in her.
State cricket for Victoria has also helped her find her stride. She got promoted to open the batting, a move that boosted her belief in herself and confidence in her skills.
"I love cricket. I love batting. So my theory was, if I can face as many balls as possible, then hopefully that can translate to making as many runs as possible," she says. "So much of batting does come down to watching the ball and reacting to the ball, but I feel if you're one step ahead of the game, and you kind of know what the game requires, and what you need to do, it just takes a lot of elements away.
"Over the last couple of seasons, just when I've been able to really contribute and see some scores, and, especially in one-day cricket, by having a little bit more responsibility at the top of the order, and opening the batting, and being able to consistently score runs. I feel like that's really helped with my confidence."
Let go by Stars in 2023 to lifting the WBBL title the very next year with Renegades, Faltum has gained perspective from both experiences. She is as positive as she is pragmatic about her goals - in the short-term, to contribute to every team she represents and win the WBBL again.
Faltum's dream of winning back-to-back WBBLs with Renegades wasn't meant to be this season. Her journey towards those goals though continues, one deep squat at a time, accounting for turn and bounce along the way.
Beyond that, she wants to complete her degree in business and play for Australia. That might still be a little while away with Alyssa Healy the incumbent and Beth Mooney her accomplished back-up. The upside for Faltum is that she has in-game experience thanks to 'A' tours, and she has interacted with Healy and Mooney.
"Both of them have been amazing with their time and so generous in helping me, which I'm extremely grateful for," Faltum says. "I had a few rough games at the start of the season in the WBBL and Beth Mooney was one of the first people to reach out and message, and just offered her support. She is such a kind human who is willing to help out."
Sophie Molinuex, Renegades' captain, also happens to be Faltum's favourite bowler to keep to. "She's got such a good cricket brain," Faltum says. "I feel like she's one step ahead of the batters, which is really cool when you're standing behind the stumps to watch, especially when you're thinking about the game yourself and different situations and scenarios, when you can really tell, 'yeah, you're playing under a really good captain'."