ALL the training and time on the road for Ulladulla's Tara Rudd has been rewarded, as she was recently named in the NSW CHS open girls cricket side, which capped off a busy month for the 16-year-old.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
It all started in Orange when she represented the Country Sixers side at the under 19 girls NSW state challenge on Sunday, February 14.
During the two Twenty20 fixtures, which Rudd's side split with the Country Thunder outfit, the Ulladulla High School product scored 10 runs and took two wickets.
However, due to her Combined High Schools [CHS] commitments with South Coast, she couldn't stay and play the 40-over fixture on Monday.
"A number of girls were playing both CHS and state challenge," Rudd said.
"I decided to only play the two games on Sunday, as I did not want to let the South Coast girls down by playing the state challenge on the Monday - leaving them a player down."
Once Rudd, who has represented the Marlins on two occasions, arrived in Bathurst and joined Dane Stevenson's South Coast side, which also featured Ulladulla's Sarah Wheeler, she went about helping her side take out the CHS crown.
South Coast opened the four-day carnival with two T20 losses to Sydney North (89 to 3-67) and Sydney West (4-136 to 4-97).
The Marlins then chalked up its first win against Sydney South West (4-151 to 103), before backing it up with an impressive 5-192 to 57 victory over North Coast.
In round five, South Coast lost to North West (78 to 42) before ending the tournament on a high, with a tight 6-123 to 121 triumph against Sydney South West - to finish in fifth overall, behind champions Sydney West.
At the conclusion of the matches, the NSW CHS first and second XIs were named, with Rudd being selected in the former.
"There are a lot of quality girls playing cricket in NSW and so it's a massive honour to be selected in the CHS side," said Rudd, who was named in the second XI in 2020.
Rudd, along with fellow South Coast star Jade Allen, will now head to Maitland to compete in the All Schools carnival from March 16-18.
Rudd is looking forward to playing alongside team captain and Sydney Sixers player Hayley Silver Holmes and testing herself against the top players in the state.