Michael Rixon says the experience of representing NSW Country at the national country cricket championships in Toowoomba was one of the most memorable of his career, and one he hopes to repeat.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
"It was a great experience, very tough," the North Tamworth batsmen said.
Playing at tournament for the first time, the 29-year old took a lot away from the week.
"It was a big learning experience," he said.
Particularly around the mental approach.
"It was more the getting up and going again each day," he elaborated.
"Eight days straight was pretty hard."
It was admittedly tougher than he expected and he's glad for a couple of weeks off now. He is away this weekend and there is no local cricket the following weekend.
Rixon also spoke about the different tactics employed in the Twenty20 games
"They really attack the power plays," he said.
One of the biggest tests was the consistency of the bowling, especially the spin.
READ ALSO:
"The middle overs the spinners were quite hard," he said.
It's something he's not really that accustomed to, or at least facing that consistent a quality of spin, and something South Tamworth skipper Tom Groth also eluded to. The Bush Blues' milestone man said they tended to get a bit tied down by the spinners in the middle overs.
Asked whether he was happy with how he performed Rixon replied "yes and no".
"There were some opportunities I probably didn't take," he said.
Overall though it was "a solid first-up carnival."
Rixon was the side's fourth highest scorer for the tournament, tallying 173 runs and a highest score of 47. That came in their final game.
"That was good. It was probably the best I felt up there," he said.
"It was on a deteriorating wicket as well.
"I went in quite late. It was one of those situations again where you were facing spin and having to rotate the strike."
He also hit 30 in their opening game and had a couple good partnerships.
After being on the cusp of selection a couple of times previously and having to turn down the opportunity last year, he said it has whet his appetite to keep performing, and try and put himself in a position "to have another crack at this week".
While he is out for the Redbacks for their Twenty20 clash with West Tamworth on Saturday, should the games go ahead (the Leader understands they can be moved to synthetic if the turf wickets are unavailable), elder brother Brendan is back and will be a big inclusion.
Both sides are out of the finals reckoning with just the one win so far.
They are scheduled to meet at Chaffey Park at 1pm with Old Boys playing South Tamworth at Riverside 5 at the same time. City United and Bective-East are then set to face off at Riverside 5 for a spot in the final against Old Boys.