![TEEN MACHINE: Pictured at her Armidale home, Sophie Parsons' march towards becoming a professional cricketer has continued. Photo: Supplied TEEN MACHINE: Pictured at her Armidale home, Sophie Parsons' march towards becoming a professional cricketer has continued. Photo: Supplied](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/KUhQizDbwW8WqAyPP4x5yp/ae255431-8153-4315-abdf-39d0d3b31b69.jpg/r0_0_641_809_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
If Sophie Parsons had a super power, it would be invisibility - which is ironic given she is doing everything right to become visible on a grand scale.
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The Armidale cricketer, 13, has just been selected in the ACT/NSW Country under-16 squad for an upcoming tournament. Unsurprisingly, the batting allrounder is its youngest member.
Making the side is another crucial step in her goal of becoming a professional cricketer and representing Australia.
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Playing for Central North at this month's under-16 Country Championships at Raymond Terrace, the opener finished second on the batting standings after scoring 75 runs in three innings, with a highest score of 42 and an average of 25.
"I think it's probably the best I've ever performed at cricket, to be honest," she said. "I put a lot of effort into it."
Parsons was named in the ACT/NSW Country squad earlier this year, but had to perform well at the Country Championships to keep her spot.
She will attempt to use the Albury tournament as a springboard to bigger things - just like she did in 2019 when, as a year 6 student at Ben Venue Public, she starred as NSW's PSSA girls team won back-to-back under-12 national cricket championships.
Heading into year 9 at Armidale Secondary College in 2022, Parsons remembers her final year of primary school as a special time.
It was a year in which she represented North West in four sports - cricket, hockey, softball and soccer - and was named North West primary school athlete of the year, the award presented to her by former NRL star Jamie Lyon.
![REWIND TO 2019: Ex-NRL star Jamie Lyon presents Parsons with the North West primary school athlete of the year award. Photo: Paul Mathews. REWIND TO 2019: Ex-NRL star Jamie Lyon presents Parsons with the North West primary school athlete of the year award. Photo: Paul Mathews.](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/KUhQizDbwW8WqAyPP4x5yp/a426f8d4-175d-4ee2-b2ef-c9f0ca000008.jpg/r0_0_852_678_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
"It was sad that I had to leave them," she said of Ben Venue Public. "But it was probably the happiest year [of my life]."
The medium pacer has a delightful mix of modestly and confidence. Put on the spot, she struggled to come up with the three words that best describe her - before settling on athletic, funny and kind.
ACT/NSW Country will play NSW Metropolitan, Victoria Metropolitan and Victoria Country at Albury on January 24-27.
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