Lend Lease Breaker, Katie Mack
Sports Shoot / Delly Carr
Katie Mack is a young cricketer famous for her wild hair and leg spin bowling. Not afraid to make a tough decision, last summer she left the highly successful Bankstown Sports First Grade side to link with Northern District in search of more opportunity to develop her skills.
The move has definitely paid off for the Lend Lease Breakers squad member, who certainly demonstrated that she has more strings to her bow. In 2011/12 she finished equal fifth on the list of leading First Grade run scorers with 396 at 36, and was also ranked in the top 10 bowlers with 14 scalps. As a result, she finished sixth in the Player of the Year standings.
Mack is now an important part of a young Northern District side on the rise, and she has also represented the Australian Youth team (the Commonwealth Bank Shooting Stars).
Cricketnsw.com recently caught up with Mack, who is currently playing County cricket in England, to chat about a bold move paying off, gap years and the rising stars at the Northern District club…..
Did you have any problems with Immigration when you arrived in the United Kingdom?
I did get questioned for a much longer than the other girls! At one stage I thought I nearly wouldn't be let in, but there was no way I was letting them send me back on that plane. I don't think I could handle another plane trip like that!
Who are you playing for in England and what were the reasons behind your decision to play a summer in the UK?
I'm playing for the Essex county team. The main reason that I decided to do this was that I didn't know what I wanted to do for university after finishing school. So, I decided to have a gap year, go play some cricket and travel at the same time.
How did you rate your 2011/12 summer in the Lend Lease Breakers squad? What were the highlights?
It was a good summer, besides the weather! The highlight was definitely getting to travel to New Zealand twice, firstly with the NSW Second XI then most importantly with the Australian Youth team.
What did you get out of the Australian Youth tour to New Zealand?
The Shooting Stars tour was the highest level of cricket I've ever played, so it was great to see how my skills held up. It also showed me the level that I have to aim for.
Last season you made the move from Bankstown Sports to Northern District to give yourself more opportunity - how did that work out for you?
Before last season I was seen as a leg-spin bowler. Moving to ND’s gave me a great opportunity to improve my batting and I ended up opening for them. The decision paid off as I was selected in the Shooting Stars as a batter.
Northern District have a lot of young talent and seem to be a club on the rise. Who are the players to watch closely in that club?
There is a lot of young talent and they are all improving! In batting, I'd say watch out for Lily Bardsley who scored a lot of runs this season. With the ball, Ashley James, Taryn Heddo and Mikaela Turik are all getting faster and improving quickly.
Have you set any goals for next summer yet?
With the bat I am aiming to improve my concentration so that when I am at the crease I can play longer innings. With my leg-spin, I want to be bowling a consistent line and length.