ONE line from Belinda Clark, as her statue was unveiled at the SCG this week alongside those of Richie Benaud and Steve Waugh, should serve as inspiration to every cricket lover in her home town of Newcastle.
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"I want people to take away that you can do anything you want, if you put your mind to it," Clark told the crowd of assembled politicians, dignitaries, family and friends.
As the 52-year-old explained in her acceptance speech, as a young girl in Newcastle, she grew up with dreams of making a name for herself as a tennis player.
Fate, however, intervened and she soon found herself following an alternative sporting pathway, at a time when women's cricket was effectively amateur, and the prospect of female players earning a living from competitions broadcast on prime-time TV would have seemed laughable.
Between 1991 and 2005, Clark proceeded to play 15 Tests, 118 one-day internationals and a lone T20 game for Australia, captaining her country for 12 years, before moving into various high-profile administrative roles with Cricket Australia.
Becoming the first women's cricketer in history to be immortalised in bronze speaks volumes for the impact Clark had, not only as a record-breaking run machine, but also as a pioneer and role model.
And among all the highlights and milestone moments she enjoyed, it would seem fair to assume one remains especially close to her heart.
In 2000, when she was at the peak of her powers, Clark skippered Australia in a 50-over ODI against England at Newcastle's No.1 Sportsground, marking the occasion with an unbeaten 146 that earned her the player-of-the-match award.
To my knowledge, that makes her the only Novocastrian to have played a full international cricket match in her home town.
Whether anyone will ever get an opportunity to join that exclusive club remains to be seen, but it certainly won't be happening any time soon.
It is now almost eight years since Newcastle hosted a Sheffield Shield match.
No.1 Sportsground, despite a recent $8 million upgrade that took Newcastle City Council more than two years to complete, is still not considered fit for hosting elite-level fixtures.
More renovations are required - including new change rooms, improved spectator and media facilities and brighter floodlights - which is set to cost roughly as much again as council has already outlaid.
All of which raises the question of why council invested so much time, money and resources into renewing the playing surface and expanding the size of the field, when those issues did not appear priorities.
Adding to the uncertainty, confusion and frustration of Newcastle cricket fans is the much-vaunted proposal for a "sporting precinct" at Broadmeadow.
The state government announced concept plans for the 63-hectare site at District Park more than five years ago, yet since then, what exactly has been delivered?
The Newcastle Knights' Centre of Excellence is the lone addition, of which the NRL club contributed 50 per cent.
Other than that, the Coalition has provided nothing much more substantial for Newcastle than hot air and empty promises, while continuing to pump billions into new sporting stadiums in Sydney.
With a state election looming, Cricket NSW this week kicked off the process of lobbying for funding for a new 15,000-seat arena at Broadmeadow, capable of hosting both international cricket and top-level AFL.
For Novocastrians, it probably sounds too good to be true.
And comments this week from Venues NSW chairman Tony Shepherd gave an unintended insight into the odds stacked against us.
Asked about rain interrupting play during the SCG Test, Shepherd replied: "I think there is room for a closed stadium in Sydney, to host cricket, host concerts, host AFL, host rugby, host football, rugby league ... they've got one in Melbourne, and we should look at having a roof in Sydney some time soon."
Here's a better idea, Tony.
How about instead of spending our taxes on another luxury item for Sydneysiders, the state government honours its promises to the people of Newcastle and the Hunter?
To put it in context, when Newcastle last hosted an elite cricket match, a young kid from Cardiff called Jason Sangha helped man the sightscreens.
Sangha is now 23, a regular in the NSW Sheffield Shield squad, and captain of the Sydney Thunder BBL team.
One of his teammates is 21-year-old legspinner Toby Gray, formerly from Belmont.
Touch wood, Sangha and Gray have at least a decade of professional cricket ahead of them and, if they're good enough, might one day live the dream of pulling on a Baggy Green cap.
But will they ever get to play a game in their home town, as Belinda Clark did 23 years ago?
As she said on Thursday, anything is possible, if you put your mind to it.
That's the attitude Novocastrians will need to embody, collectively, if we're any hope of getting a long-overdue fair go for cricket lovers in this city.
