No sooner had Lara Graham arrived back from Tasmania and a triumphant national championships campaign with the ACT/NSW Country under-18s', she was packing her bags for another national championships tilt.
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After collecting her Young Citizen of the Year award at Tamworth's Australia Day ceremony on Sunday, the young tyro flew to Sydney to link up with her NSW Indigenous side team-mates before winging her way to Alice Springs to play at the National Indigenous Cricket Championships.
The Oxley High student is no stranger to the nationals environment and all that that entails, but this will be her first experience at the Indigenous championships.
She was "a bit tired" when she spoke to the Leader after "a long two weeks" but looking forward to the week ahead and testing herself in a bit of a foreign situation.
"It will be different to the under-18s stuff, different sort of cricket," she said.
"With the under-18s you're competing against players your own age. Playing with older ladies and versing them will be a lot different."
"I don't think I've done that before."
The championships for the women's division get underway on Tuesday, but are about a lot more than the cricket. They will visit indigenous communities and are also taking up cricket gear to donate.
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"As much as the cricket will be good, it will be good to learn about the cultural side," Graham said, adding that it will be "pretty special" to represent her culture.
"I'm very fortunate to be able to do that," she said.
NSW have dominated the women's competition since it's inception and go in as defending champions.
Gunnedah's Zoe Fleming will also pad up for the NSW side in what will be her first major competition since recovering from a torn ACL.
The games will all be Twenty20's.
Graham will draw confidence out of how she performed with the ball in the shorter form down in Tasmania that she can contribute.
She was pretty happy with how they came out.
She didn't bowl a lot of overs in the 50-over games after picking up a bit of an ankle injury and with rain washing out a couple of games.
The Tasmanian championships were her third at the 18s level and second as part of the ACT/NSW Country side after playing for the Cricket Australia XI in her first year.
Graham said it was a good way to finish off her junior days.
Her cricket marathon will continue when she returns from Alice Springs. Two weeks after the nationals she will suit up for North West for the sixth, and final, time at the NSW CHS carnival.
"No rest, but I'm making the most of it while I've still got the opportunity," she said.
They will be without Mim Barbara due to ACT/NSW Country under-15s commitments but still have a handy side.
