At the start of the 2023-24 Western Zone under 12s season, it was all about enjoying their cricket and learning for the Western Girls side.
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And when they went into Sunday's grand final against Orange at the Country Club Oval, that had already improved out of sight.
So it was no surprise how well the Western Girls played in the decider, as they chased down the hosts to win by five wickets.
Western Girls assistant coach Matt Stephen said it was a "very fulfilling" win.
"To see where they've come from at the start of the season, I'm just happy to see how they've developed their own games," he said.
"It wasn't about winning or losing. To me they had already won, to see how they've improved in themselves and to see them smile when work on something and figure it out.
"The win was a nice bonus for them. They didn't celebrate too much. They're very well-mannered women."
Orange put on 141 runs off 35 overs, with Jack Brazier leading the way with the bat, scoring 31 runs from number four.
In the chase, the Western Girls got off to the best possible start and only lost their first wicket at 60 runs.
But then they lost 2-1 and looked in trouble before Poppi Stephen came in to put on a 73-run partnership with opener Charlotte Shoemark to steady the ship and put their team on course for victory.
By the time Shoemark was dismissed, she had put on 56 runs and the Western Girls were three runs short of the win.
"Charlotte batted very well," Stephen said.
"Charlotte and Poppi put on 73 runs for that wicket, which was a huge step towards chasing down that total.
"They batted really well together."
While the Western Girls team is basically an under 14s team, only a couple of players are top age - Rachel Grimmond and skipper Olivia Dimmick - with the vast majority 12.
The team stretches from Bourke to Lithgow.
