Lend Lease Breaker Nicola Carey
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Young Nicola Carey has had an up-and-down season. She opened 2011/12 with a starting spot in the Lend Lease Breakers, but was dropped after two rounds. Making the most of her opportunities in Grade cricket, Youth Carnivals and the NSW Second XI, the 18-year-old had the chance to tour New Zealand last month with the Australian Youth team where she performed brilliantly.

She recently caught up with www.cricketnsw.com to chat about the last few months….

How did you find last season?

I was happy being in the Lend Lease Breakers team for the start of the WNCL. That was a good start to the season but it was disappointing not to get any more games after the first couple of rounds. I need to go away now and work on my game then hopefully break back into the team again next summer.

What areas of your game are you working on for next season?

Everything could use a bit of work! We had a camp last weekend (Australian U/18 Talent Camp) where we worked on basically everything. From that I’ve got a few skills that I’ll be practising during the pre-season.

Last summer you played for the NSW Second XI in matches against a Victorian Second XI, and also toured New Zealand with the team. What did you get out of those games?

For me getting that extra game time was important. You train a lot with the Lend Lease Breakers but don’t necessarily play a lot of games. You play Grade, but it’s good to go away and play a higher standard of cricket with the Second XI where you can use things that you’ve been working on at training in a match situation.

What was touring New Zealand with the Australian Youth team like for you?

That was heaps of fun! It was a really good tour with a really good bunch of girls. We won three out of the five games so they definitely gave us a run for our money. It was great to have Belinda Clark as our coach and be able to go away with so many of the NSW girls too.

What was Belinda like as a coach?

If things went wrong, Belinda would keep it really simple. She never complicated anything and we just focused on the little things that we could go back and work on at training. She really knew her stuff and that experience was great. She was really good to go away with.

Can you tell us about the century you scored in the 50 over match against the New Zealand Emerging Players?

I can’t even remember the last time I scored one! It was pretty good to bring it up in Australian colours and it was an important match as we had to win it to win the series.

I was hitting the ball quite well at the beginning of the innings and they were giving me a few ‘freebies’. The spinners tightened things up in the middle overs, however, once they had finished I was able to bat through to the end of the innings and make the most of facing the pace bowlers again.

Do you think you’re a better player of pace at the moment than spin?

Definitely! I am a lot more comfortable with pace and playing the slow bowlers is definitely on the list of things that I have to work on during the pre-season!

You’ve been an allrounder throughout your Youth career. Do you see yourself sticking to just the one discipline as you go further in senior ranks, or can you maintain your position as an allrounder?

I do enjoy batting a little bit more but being an allrounder is good in a way as if one thing isn’t working out, then you’ve got the other skill to focus on as well. I do think I can maintain my position in a team as an allrounder.

Have you set yourself any goals for next season?

I’d like to be a regular member of the Lend Lease Breakers team throughout the whole season then go from there!