ULLADULLA United’s Tara Rudd will get the chance to test herself against the top under 15 female cricketers in Australia, after recently being named in the ACT/NSW Country squad for February’s nationals.
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This selection comes one the back of a busy 2018 campaign, which started with her being one of 26 girls selected to compete in the State Challenge.
From there, they reduced the squad to 20 for the state team – which attended two NSW training sessions, in Blacktown and Bankstown.
This experience helped the Ulladulla High School student shine for both the under 15 and under 18s Greater Illawarra Zone teams at the Country Championships at Raymond Terrace.
Of note, during the under 15s tournament, Rudd, 14, was the tournament’s second highest run scorer, with a total of 106 runs – which included three not out innings’ and a high score of 51 not out, leading to her receiving the game ball.
“I think I played very well in both the under 15s and under 18s tournaments while representing Greater Illawarra Zone,” Rudd said.
“I found the under 18s a lot more challenging and was a great experience to play with the older girls.”
On the back of this strong showing, Rudd was named in Steve Davies’ ACT/NSW Country side for the Female Under 15 National Championships in Canberra.
“Making the ACT/NSW Country side has been my goal for a long time - it’s been a long selection process,” Rudd said.
“Being selected means the world to me – I could not of made this team without my parents support.
“I also want to thank Rob Gilkes for also supporting me and coaching me in my younger years.
“This is the highest achievement of my career – I have put in a lot of hard work and determination to come this far in my cricket career.”
While in Canberra, Rudd believes she will be able to contribute with both the willow but also in the field.
“While in Canberra, I think I will contribute with batting in the middle order and hopefully with some strong fielding performances,” she said.
“Going into the tournament, my expectations are not too high, but I will give 100 per cent effort and learn from the more experienced girls.”
Rudd continued her strong form with the bat recently, starring for Greater Illawarra in their Margreat Pedion Cup under 15 girls competition, scoring 78 off 72 balls.
She then went into bat against Manly and smashed 91 runs with many sparkling boundaries.
ACT/NSW Country under 15s squad: Clare Webber ©, Deni Baker, Isabella Cameron, Emelia Kavanagh, Amy Kreuzberger, Katie Letcher, Clare Levings, Georgi Martin, Clare McGuirk, Maddie McGuigan, Jessie Mudaliar, Tara Rudd and Holly Simmons.