Amanpreet Kaur will venture beyond the border to the New South Wales country town of Barooga for her first Victorian representative honours.
The MacKillop College student will be the only Wyndham-based player in the School Sports Victoria 12-and-under girls cricket team at the School Sports Australia cricket championships in January.
Kaur was ecstatic when she found out of her selection for the Big V and enjoyed the moment with her proud dad Ramandeep.
“My mum [Jagjit] got a text message when she was out, she messaged my dad, who was at home with me and he told me the news,” she said. “It was really exciting, it feels great to be selected, it’s a good achievement.”
Kaur’s passion for cricket borders on devotion. The Werribee youngster is never too far away from the cricket nets – be it at school or in her downtime.
“If I say to her at five in the morning that we can go to the nets, she’d sit straight up!” Ramandeep said. “In primary school, when someone says ‘where’s Aman?’, she was always at the oval playing cricket.
“Even if I take her to the nets in 35 degrees heat, she won’t feel the heat.
“She just wants to play, she’s very passionate and so dedicated.”
Kaur is just as talented as she is passionate about the game.
She will be a key member of the Big V for her medium pace bowling and speed in the field as a cover, point or square leg fielder.
But Kaur is keen to bolster her batting average too, so she can be a true all-rounder in the future.
“I’m leaning more towards the bowling side, but I’m trying to improve my batting,” she said.
“I’m a medium pace bowler, I usually use my own action, but I try to use the swing bowling techniques of some of the star players. It’s going to be very exciting to test myself against the top players.
“I guess I’m nervous, but I’m looking forward to it.” Kaur’s favourite player to watch is Molly Strano, an all-rounder for Victorian Spirit and Melbourne Renegades.
Both the Hoppers Crossing Cricket Club and Kaur’s cricket coach Rob Ward have had a major impact in getting her to this point in her short career.
“I enjoy being down at the club,” Kaur said. “They’ve helped me out throughout the years.
“I’ve also had a coach, Rob Ward, who’s helped me out throughout the winter to prepare for this.”
