Kate McTaggart did not always have the love for cricket she does today.
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But that all changed once the Cooks Hill 17-year-old transitioned from spectator to player.
The top-order batter and medium pace bowler is now recognised as one of the state's most promising talents and is set to captain NSW Country at the national women's under-19 cricket championships in Brisbane from Thursday.
"I used to really dislike cricket because my brothers played it and I got dragged along to every game," McTaggart said.
"I started playing when I was 10 and realised I could put my own to my brothers.
"We played a lot in the driveway and it's very hard conditions there, so a big learning curve."
McTaggart played for NSW Country at under 16s level before stepping up to under 19s last year.
This will be her first year as the under-19 leader.
"It was definitely a little bit scary last year but I didn't feel out of place with the girls," McTaggart said.
"[It was] a little bit of a surprise [to be named captain] but we lost a lot of the older girls. I'm feeling OK about it.
"Most people will have a say leadership-wise and we're all just supporting each other."
McTaggart plays for Newcastle City in the Newcastle District Cricket Association women's midweek T20 competition and first grade for Northern Districts in NSW Women's Premier Cricket on Sundays.
Her City teammates Sienna Eve, Caoimhe Bray and Tara French are also in the NSW Country side.
The quartet will be unavailable for City's NDCA final showdown with defending champions Waratah-Mayfield at No.1 Sportsground on Wednesday night but are planning a "watch party" from Queensland before opening their week-long national campaign on Thursday.
"It would be nice to win a couple of games, score some runs and take a couple of wickets but as long as we're gelling together and making sure we're getting around everyone, that's the main thing," McTaggart said.
"That's probably the best bit about us."
Coach Hannah Trethewy said NSW Country were in a rebuilding phase.
"A couple of years ago they were winning the championships or coming in the top two," Trethewy said.
"Last year we didn't finish in the top four. We've got quite a young team so hopefully this year we can finish a bit higher than we did last year, but also we know that this is an investment in some of our players and we're going to work with them over the next couple of years."