West Wimmera's Ruby James captained the Western Waves under-17 girls to a groundbreaking premiership last week.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The Waves stormed to victory in the Youth Premier League grand final to become the fifth Waves team ever - boys or girls of any age group - to take out the state championship.
After losing just one group-stage match, the Waves earned their way through to the grand final to take on the Inner East Emus on Thursday afternoon.
In her first season as captain, James said she was more than a little bit nervous ahead of the biggest contest of her young cricket career.
"I was very, very nervous," James said.
"We made it to the final with the Waves last year too, but being captain, it felt like there was a lot more pressure riding on it this time."
Fortunately for James, her nerves were eased early in the match, as the Waves put together a tremendous bowling performance.
The Emus batted first and were restricted to just 85 runs from their 20 overs at Melbourne's Junction Oval. James bowled three overs and conceded 12 runs.
"As we got more early wickets it all felt a bit more reassuring. The nerves calmed down a bit after that," James said.
The Waves then stormed to victory, reaching the total with six overs and eight wickets in hand.
The significance of the victory in the history of the Western Waves was not lost on James.
"The Waves talent specialist from our area Stephen Field sent us all a message after saying how proud of us he is, and how it is a massive effort," James said.
"Only five teams from the Waves region have actually won the grand final, so it's pretty unreal."
James said it was particularly special to win the title alongside teammates she had played in the under-14 final with the year before.
"There were a few girls that came up into the under-17s this year that I've played under-14s with, and seeing how much we've improved and grown is awesome," James said. "To make the grand final again and win with them, it's pretty good."
James thanked her coaches, teammates and her parents for their support across a hectic season.
Fellow talented young Wimmera cricketer Georgia Baker-Miller also finished with victory last week at the Youth Super Series.
Baker-Miller was selected to play for the western Victoria's side, and helped the side win two of their three matches. Her best performance came in game one, as she made an unbeaten 15 against Renegades Metro.
While you're with us, you can now receive updates straight to your inbox twice weekly from the Wimmera Mail-Times. To make sure you're up-to-date with all the news from across the Wimmera, sign up below.