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Canberra Today 13°/18° | Friday, March 29, 2024 | Digital Edition | Crossword & Sudoku

Why Canberra is the cricketing captain’s pick

Katie Mack… “I know what I need to do on my end to be successful.”

Sports columnist SIMON ANDERSON looks in the ACT Meteors’ Katie Mack and discovers she’s thriving in the role of captain.

WHEN you take a look back at the last 12 months of cricket, selecting Katie Mack as the new captain of the ACT Meteors was a no-brainer.

Simon Anderson.

The team’s former captain Ange Reakes is taking a break from playing commitments as she prepares to welcome her first child in August, and stalwart Erin Osborne announced her retirement earlier this year. 

The Meteors have lost a wealth of experience for the upcoming season, but despite these losses the new skipper comes into the leadership role at the peak of her cricketing career.

The last time Mack spoke to “CityNews” she was in the midst of a career-best season. She was the second highest run scorer in the Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL) before returning to Canberra and leading the scoring for the Meteors during the Women’s National Cricket League (WNCL) season, including a stunning century against SA in March.

Following her strong performances, Mack was selected by Cricket Australia to represent Australia A in a tour series against England A, and was in the conversation to make her debut for the country’s first XI.

Mack believes she is ready to take on the important position in the organisation, and credits a shift in her approach to the sport for her recent success.

“I have changed a lot over the last few years, and my priorities have changed,” said Mack. “I have figured out the type of cricketer I am and I know what I need to do on my end to be successful. 

“I still train hard, but I know what needs to be done and don’t need to think about it as much as I used to.

“Taking that away has freed up time and mental space and I can be more invested in how my teammates are going and even how Cricket ACT is going as an organisation.”

The appointment comes at a time when the organisation has fully committed to Mack, signing her to a new three-year deal during the off-season which will keep her in the capital until the 2025/26 season.

It also comes as the WNCL expands to feature a full home and away fixture, with each team increasing from eight matches a season to 12.

After such a successful season, Mack had options on the table and could have signed elsewhere, but Canberra is where she wants to be.

“I was at the end of my ACT and Adelaide Strikers contracts, so there had been a few negotiations,” said Mack.

“The nice thing about re-signing with the Meteors was that I had a pretty strong offer somewhere else, but I chose to be here.

“Five to 10 years ago ACT was potentially somewhere people went when they couldn’t crack other teams.

“That shows that the organisation is turning a corner. We have got a lot of people who are choosing to be here over being somewhere else.”

New high-profile signing Holly Ferling is an example of that appetite for players to move to the capital. The former Australian fast bowler will link up with the Meteors this season after moving from her home state of Queensland.

“Holly is choosing to come to the ACT, and I don’t know if that would have happened 10 years ago.”

At 28, Mack still has plenty of her best years ahead, but also has more than a decade of experience in the cricketing world.

Her representative journey started in NSW in the 2011/12 season, before she made the move to the capital two years later.

She takes the reins of a young squad, but knows through her own experience that some of her teammates will take the same steps forward that she took over the last few seasons.

“There are girls in our team that have been there for a couple of years and it is their turn to be the experienced players – whether they are ready or not,” said Mack.

“They are no longer fresh faced around the group, and it will be good for them to have a bigger role in the group.

“It was one of the reasons I was keen to get an official leadership role in the group – I have been in their shoes and I feel I can offer advice so they don’t make the same mistakes as me, or help them get through if they do.”

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