Australian women’s cricketer Nicola Carey is perfect at balancing an appreciation of the past, while keeping her steady eye on the next challenge.
A Hobart Hurricane, recently coming off her maiden first-class century for the Tasmanian Tigers and an integral part of the ICC Women's T20 World Cup win in 2020, she's done it all in the cricketing world.
On the eve of the Australian Women's Cricket T20 team taking on New Zealand in the touring series, Carey is now ready to take the next step alongside her Australian teammates.
"The girls are chomping at the bit! We get out of here [quarantine] in a week and we're excited to get into the games against New Zealand," the 27-year-old said.
But, looking back, Carey's proudest achievement is one that resides in the hearts of many Australians alike. That was, being part of that Australian women's side who defeated India in the ICC Women's T20 World Cup last March at the MCG.
"It was well documented, the journey that our team went on through that World Cup, from injuries, the chat around 'is the pressure too much?' and the weather of the semi-final. It had every bit of drama that could happen," Carey said.
"But to get to the final and see 86,000 people there was bloody incredible, something none of us had experienced before. To top that off with a bit of Katy Perry at the end, can't top that!" Carey said.
And, with the announcement that Cricket Australia has co-commissioned an artwork piece with the Melbourne Cricket Club, Carey is honoured to know their win is etched into the MCG walls forever.
"It's a really exciting piece to get to go up at the MCG," she began.
"We've all had a chat to the artist to get some insight of things that stood out and what we remember from the day."
Upon reflection, Carey knows that win was integral to keeping women's cricket and sport at the forefront of Australian's minds and is grateful she gets to be just one of the influences involved.
"It's a platform we can continue on with and grow. To see 86,000 people turn out for that event [World Cup], there's an appetite out there for women's cricket and women's sport," she said.
"Hopefully we can get on top of COVID, get some bigger crowds and build on the T20 World Cup last year."
Now, with Amazon Prime's recent launch of 'The Record', that documents Australia's World Cup triumph being shown on Kayo Sports and Foxtel, Carey is appreciative that a moment she was a key part of will never be forgotten in another format that she can reflect on proudly.
"When you're there, you're not really focused on anything but what you're doing in the competition, so when you see it put together, the little insights and background is pretty cool to have," she said. But now, Carey continues to look forward to her side's next challenge against New Zealand, as she and her side complete their hotel quarantine and prepare to attempt to replicate last year's triumphs.
"We've come off the back of some WNCL [Women's National Cricket League] games so we've had some experience, we're ready."
You can catch all the action from Australia's touring series of New Zealand from 28 March on Foxtel and Kayo Sports.
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