She missed out on ACT-NSW Country’s side for last summer’s national championship but in the end that non-selection, while supremely disappointing, was a blessing in disguise for former Kinross ace McKenzie Carr.
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Being overlooked in 2016-17 forced Carr to work harder, ultimately proving the catalyst for her selection this summer and, after this month’s Cricket Australia Under-18 Women’s Championships, a national title win.
That success came at the expense of NSW Metropolitan, Carr and her ACT-NSW Country teammates sealing the national title with a nail-biting, one-wicket grand final win.
“I played for ACT-NSW Country in under 15s in 2015-16, but missed out (on the under-18 side) last season. That was disappointing, so I came back, worked my butt off and made it back into [this summer’s] squad,” Carr explained.
“We’d trained (as an extended squad) all year, but the side was finalised after the country championships. I didn’t perform as well as I’d like with Western Zone, the country champs probably didn’t help my case at all actually.
“I’d done the hard work in the lead-up though, I guess the selectors liked what I had to offer but I wasn’t expecting to get picked, so I’m very grateful for the faith they showed in me (and) the win, that was the first time ACT-NSW Country had beaten NSW Metro in a long time, to finally do that was crazy.”
It was disappointment that spurred Carr’s side to that trophy as well.
Just a few days before ACT-NSW Country’s 50-over, one-day triumph, the side was beaten by NSW Metropolitan in the national championships’ Twenty20 series.
“It was nice to get a bit of revenge on them,” Carr smiled.
“We’d all gone into [the 50-over final] with fire in our bellies, we wanted to put on a show and we did.”
A show is right, ACT-NSW Country’s victory was as thrilling a win as you’ll see.
It looked somewhat of a formality at lunch too, after ACT-NSW Country speedster Ellie Dalgarno–Fixter ran rampant, taking 4-21 from 10 overs and helping skittle NSW Metro for just 84.
It was anything but though.
ACT-NSW Country slumped to 3-11, 4-38 and then 5-41 after Carr was dismissed without scoring.
It was the first time in a long time we’d beaten NSW Metro, to finally do that was crazy.
- McKenzie Carr
“I actually got run out for a duck, thank god it wasn’t a diamond,” she laughed.
“I got a bit overwhelmed by the nerves and hesitated a bit. Good piece of fielding though, and [Katelyn Beaumont] had been in for a while and was set too, so it was better for the side that it was me.”
Beaumont ended up top-scoring with 23, as her side secured the win with just one wicket and two overs to spare.
“It was crazy. I was devastated getting a duck (at the time), but it doesn’t really matter when you end up winning,” Carr smiled.
Although she didn’t play in Orange this summer to focus on her HSC, having finished year 12 Carr says she’s planning on heading to Sydney for university in 2018.
And cricket, of course. She’s already been offered an elite athlete scholarship at Sydney University.
“I’ll keep playing cricket, see where it takes me,” she said, adding she’s looking at studying nursing.
“Women’s sport is taking off around the world, there’s so many opportunities in women’s cricket now so, you know, hopefully I can keep going and maybe crack the big time.”
Matt Findlay
Formerly a sports specialist, I'm based at Orange and shift between wide-spread range of subjects here and, often, across the entire Central West region of NSW as well. I have almost a decade of experience in the media and marketing industries both here in Australia and internationally, along with journalism I have experience in content strategy, brand development, and digital and social media. Along the way, I've been fortunate to win a handful of media awards and be nominated for several others too.
Formerly a sports specialist, I'm based at Orange and shift between wide-spread range of subjects here and, often, across the entire Central West region of NSW as well. I have almost a decade of experience in the media and marketing industries both here in Australia and internationally, along with journalism I have experience in content strategy, brand development, and digital and social media. Along the way, I've been fortunate to win a handful of media awards and be nominated for several others too.
