Michael Rixon will have the perfect companion when he travels from Tamworth to Toowoomba on Thursday morning for the national country cricket championships.
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Sharing the ride with him will be NSW Country veteran Tom Groth.
So for Bush Blues rookie Rixon, you would be hard pressed to find a better ear to pick in preparation for contesting the nationals.
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"It's great having him [Groth] around," Rixon said. "I'm not sure how many more years he will play rep cricket for. But he's certainly great to play with, and he's a great leader."
Groth, the South Tamworth and Central North captain, holds the record for most games played for the Bush Blues. He will contest his 12th consecutive national country cricket campaign.
He captained the Bush Blues last year, but Newcastle-based Nick Foster will skipper the side this year.
For Rixon, the championships present his biggest challenge as a cricketer. Having recently turned 29, he said being selected for NSW Country was a "great reward".
"I guess it's just reward for consistency," he said. "I know I've been close [to selection] a few times, and last year I made it and was unavailable for selection. Yes, it's great reward for effort over a long period of time."
Rixon expects the championships to be his biggest test as a cricketer.
He has been selected as one of six specialist batsmen, so he expects to play each match.
That would mean 10 games over eight days, with the possibility of playing in the final on the ninth day.
Rixon said: "Obviously it will be a step up from Central North - I guess a more consistent, harder cricket. We'll be playing a lot cricket ... it is a bit gruelling on you mentally and physically.
"And that's one of the toughest aspects of it: just getting up the next day and being sore and tired and having to play, and trying to keep up your standards over that period of time."
Rixon expects to bat in the middle order.
As for NSW's chances of winning a tournament they last won in 2018, he said: "Grothy's quite confident that we can do well.
"We'll just wait and see. It's a tough carnival."
NSW's opener is a T20 clash against South Australia on Friday morning.