Almost 1000 kilometres, it’s a long way to come for a few days of cricket.
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But for Brisbane North, making the trip to Orange for its debut appearance in the Western NSW Under-15 Girls’ Carnival was absolutely worth it.
So much so Adele Wood, the side’s manager, says a return trip for next summer’s edition is already all but locked in.
“It was just great. [The ODJCA] was so great ... and we are already planning to come back next year,” Wood enthused.
“Rob Bailey, who looks after the girls back home, had heard about the carnival and we just thought it was a really great opportunity for the girls.
“There’s no real pathway like this one back home and playing for Brisbane North Junior Cricket Association is, I guess, the epitome for the boys so we thought why not open that up for the girls as well, and come on down.
“The parents were all so supportive of it and the girls really enjoyed themselves, they learned a lot about teamwork, communication and looking after themselves as young athletes.”
That development is what it was all about too, Wood said.
Not that the side wasn't competitive, far from it in fact.
After being bowled out for just 32 by eventual champions ACT on day one Brisbane’s improvement each day was dramatic, and the Queenslanders finished the preliminary stage in fourth before going down to Gordon in the third-place play-off on Thursday.
Individually the side did well too.
Sofi Maddox finished the carnival as the seventh highest run-scorer and skipper Kiara Johnson-Wood, who is in her first season of the outdoor form of the game, was the third leading wicket-taker.
She finished the tournament with 10 wickets from her 18.5 overs, including best figures of 5-18, at a superb average of just 7.90.
“The wins are great, but we really wanted the players to develop as young, female athletes and I think they’ve done that, they grew with each game,” Wood said.
“Some of the girls have been playing cricket since they could walk you know, whereas others like Kiara are just coming into the outdoor game.
“We had some 12-year-olds and some 15-year-olds, so there was a wide spectrum in terms of maturity as well, but [the ODJCA] were very understanding that we had some girls on the cusp of that age group, but it’s more about elite participation and giving them this kind of opportunity.
“It was also great having a young, female coach in (Queensland Premier Cricket gun) Alex Lascu, who is quite a formidable cricketer herself.
“You just can’t put a value on how good an experience this was for us.”
Matt Findlay
Formerly a sports specialist, I'm based at Orange and shift between wide-spread range of subjects here and, often, across the entire Central West region of NSW as well. I have almost a decade of experience in the media and marketing industries both here in Australia and internationally, along with journalism I have experience in content strategy, brand development, and digital and social media. Along the way, I've been fortunate to win a handful of media awards and be nominated for several others too.
Formerly a sports specialist, I'm based at Orange and shift between wide-spread range of subjects here and, often, across the entire Central West region of NSW as well. I have almost a decade of experience in the media and marketing industries both here in Australia and internationally, along with journalism I have experience in content strategy, brand development, and digital and social media. Along the way, I've been fortunate to win a handful of media awards and be nominated for several others too.
