After emerging from the fog of COVID, a rejuvenated Mim Barbara is ready to fire for Central North at this week's women's country championships.
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It will be virtually the first cricket the Tamworth tyro has played since last year's under-15 national female championships, where she represented ACT/NSW Country, with barely two weeks later the world plunging into chaos as coronavirus exerted it's vice-like grip.
Barbara admits she "went a bit cold from cricket" during the pandemic and for a time lacked the motivation to come back.
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"Everything getting cancelled I just got a bit overwhelmed," she said.
"I just thought 'oh well everything's going to be cancelled anyway', I kind of had that mindset.
"But seeing everything restarted and coming back to training, you realise how fun it is again and you just want to get back into it."
Now she has the honour of leading Central North at a home country championships. She will skipper the under-16s side at their carnival, which gets underway in Tamworth on Monday.
Originally scheduled to be held in Raymond Terrace back in October, Barbara said she had her doubts whether the championships would go ahead, especially after the outbreak in Sydney just before Christmas.
But thankfully that wasn't the case, and she can't wait to pad up against Newcastle in their opening game.
"Playing at home; we don't really get a chance to many tournaments at all, and especially this year because we've missed out on so much sport, it's great to have something in town," Barbara said.
A very similar side to the one she led last year, she is excited to see what they can do.
One of only three top-age players (it was under-15s last year) and the few to have played at that level before, she remarked on how much they have all improved.
"All the girls have just matured a lot, and they're a very happy bright bunch who love their cricket," she said.
"It's an honour to captain always, but just with this team especially I'm really, really looking forward to it."
The top-scorer in their first two games last year, she will again have a prominent role to play with the bat at the top of the order.
It will be big week for the teen. She will back up for the under-19s on Wednesday and Thursday.
Central North under-16s: Eden Andrews, Molly Armstrong, Miriam Barbara (c), Caoimhe Bray, Georgia Davidson, Jazlyn Dennis, Zara Dennis, Kyanne Fowler, Monique Krake, Georgie Leonard, Sophie Parsons, Lara Robertson, Chloe Scicluna, Vanessa Simpson.
Central North under-19s: Molly Armstrong, Deni Baker, Miriam Barbara, Tara Craig, Jessica Davidson, Elsie Ford, Lara Graham (C), Claire McGuirk, Josephine Pearce, Chloe Scicluna, Vanessa Simpson, Matiese Wadwell.
