THREE years ago Lisa Griffith was working on a 3.5 million hectare outback cattle station in the Northern Territory and not giving cricket a thought, but this Sunday she will become the 29th woman to captain New South Wales.
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She will deputise as captain of the Breakers in the absence of Alyssa Healy, marking yet another highlight for the Bathurst talent since she returned to the sport.
Griffith has already skippered the inaugural NSW Country women's side, impressed with ball for Sydney Thunder in the Big Bash tournament and played three Women's National Cricket League games since her comeback in the summer of 2017.
"It's been a whirlwind few years, I've been really lucky to kind of come back into the environment and I guess have the opportunity and backing from Cricket New South Wales," the Bathurst talent said.
"Very honoured to take on the side this weekend.
"Really fortunate we have got five or six players within the group who could all be captain, so I'm really lucky that I'm the one who has a C next to my name. People like Rene Farrell, Sarah Aley, Naomi Stalenberg, Lauren Cheatle are all brilliant leaders and captains in their own right, so hopefully I'll be collaborating with them and making great decisions on and off the field."
The 27-year-old will lead her state as they play the opening two matches of their WNCL title defence in Adelaide against South Australia on Sunday then Victoria on Tuesday.
While Griffith carries good pre-season form with the bat into that contest - she she cracked an unbeaten 103 in an intra-squad match and 78 against the ACT Meteors - she said her main goal is to guide the Breakers.
"My first priority is leading the side and what I can do to help wherever I can .... only time will tell, just looking forward to getting out there and playing. It's been a long pre-season, so being out there and playing cricket is a really exciting thing," she said.
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In another positive sign for the Bathurst all-rounder, Breakers coach Dominic Thornely said the choice of Griffith as stand-in captain was part of a long-term vision.
"We definitely understand that there will most likely be a reduction in international players playing WNCL cricket going forward," he said.
"Lisa has been amazing the last few years in her leadership in and around our group.
"Her maturity is incredible and she's a very inspirational person. Tactically very aware of the game. Very modern in her preparation."
Griffith is not the only Central West product who has been named in the Breakers squad for the start of the WNCL season, with 15-year-old Orange talent Phoebe Litchfield also making the trip to Adelaide.
The teenager is in line to make her debut at this level, but is no stranger to performing on the representative scene. She was the leading run-scorer at the Female Under 18 National Championships in 2018/19 as she amassed 348 runs at an average of 43.5 representing the Cricket Australia XI.
