Lara Graham has described the National Indigenous Cricket Championships as one of the best cricketing experiences of her life.
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The Tamworth teenager made it a personal title hat-trick for 2020 when she helped the NSW side win a record 13th straight title.
Played in Alice Springs, of the championships she has been involved in, Graham rates it as one of her favourites.
"It was a great cultural experience, and the cricket was great and we got the win," she said.
She was joined in the NSW side by Gunnedah's Zoe Fleming.
The pair played a prominent role in the Blues' success and were duly recognised with selection in the Black Caps team of the tournament.
Graham also picked up the bowling award as the leading wicket-taker after the pool games.
NSW captain Julie Muir's five-wicket haul in the final saw her pip Graham by one in the final count, Graham's two taking her to seven for the tournament.
Fleming also snagged two wickets in the final to finish third with six.
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Neither had a lot of opportunities with the bat, although Graham did hit the winning runs in the final as they passed Queensland's 72 inside 13 overs.
She said that was pretty sweet.
"It was a good feeling," she said.
Fleming only had the one bat and finished unbeaten on 21.
It was somewhat fitting that Graham was the one that secured the victory having set it up.
Opening the bowling, she picked up two early wickets (both bowled) to have Queensland floundering at 2-8.
"I bowled a couple of wides and I thought oh my gosh. But then I came back and gave her a peach so I was pretty happy with that," Graham said.
Fleming then chimed in with the next two to leave Queensland 4-29.
It was Graham's first time playing at the championships, and an experience she will long remember.
One of the highlights was visiting a local Indigenous community and donating some of her old cricket gear.
"It was really good just to see their faces," she said.
"They had our shirts on, had Graham on the back so that was pretty good to see because they were so happy to get a shirt."
She said it was quite an eye-opening experience.
"You look at what we have and what they have and then it makes you really grateful that you have what you have," she said.
It was also really special to not only represent her state but also her culture.
"Just connecting to it and really learning new stuff about the culture and how the elders and the community live up there," she said.
Thanks to some unseasonal rain they also got to see the mighty Todd River flowing.
The win continued a successful few weeks for Graham after the ACT/NSW Country under-18s did the double at the nationals in Tasmania.
And it isn't over yet. She has been asked to play in Thursday night's Twenty20 game as part of the Baggy Blues' visit to Tamworth.
"It is a men's team, so Jess (Davidson) and I were pretty happy to be asked to play in that. It should be a good experience," Graham said.
It will also be a bit of a novel one with the long-time team-mates playing on opposite teams.
"It's the first time ever I've been on an opposite team to Jess," she said.
Featuring a host of local stars and Sydney grade players the game is set to get under way at 6pm. Prior to that there will be a coaching clinic at No.1 Oval from 4.30pm.
The clinic is open to all players from 6-16 years of age. They will receive coaching from the likes of Steve Rixon, Len Pascoe, Phil Emery, Gavin Robertson and Phil Marks.
Invitational teams
Mick Rixon XI, Tom Fitzgerald, Adam Jones, Sam Bowden, Bryan Warren, Simon Norvill, Lincoln Peters +1, Brock Ridgewell, Jess Davidson, Chad Sammut, Cameron Merchant, Tom Jagot
Tom Groth XI, Jack Hamilton, Brett Douglas, Jye Patterson, Tait Jordan +1, Landan Price, Brendan Rixon +1, Shaun Stevenson +2, Lara Graham, Jordan Gauci, Ben Abbott, Josh Clarke
