Delaney Laffy enjoyed a golden summer of cricket, and the talented all-rounder has been recognised with a spot in the Cricket NSW under-19 women’s country squad.
Laffy, Echuca’s A-grade women’s premiership skipper, will form part of the 19-player squad, which provides the opportunity for rising talents to hone their craft. She is one of three players picked from the Riverina region.
The selection initially came as a surprise to the 17-year-old, but she is relishing the opportunity to stake her claim for a place in the final XI at the National Championships in December.
“I was very excited,” Laffy said.
“I’m really excited to get into the strength and conditioning programs, I think that will be good for me, and getting to meet people from around NSW will be great.
“We go to Sydney in June for a camp and that’s when we see everyone in person, we do lots of fitness testing and pre-season stuff.”
Laffy’s first state representative nod comes after a sublime 2022-23 campaign.
The young talent has carved out a reputation as a reliable pace bowler for both Echuca, where she has played since 2018-19, and Plenty Valley in Premier Cricket, competing for both the Marg Jennings under-18 squad and the club’s second XI.
After lifting the Goulburn Murray Cricket Women’s A-grade flag — her third — and competing in the club’s C-grade men’s grand final, the Moama Anglican Grammar school captain then proceeded to carve out a remarkable campaign at the All Schools Carnival in Barooga in early March.
Initially outside the starting XI for the CIS Secondary Open Girls team, Laffy was elevated to great effect, named player of the tournament after snaring 11 wickets at an average of 4.5 from three games.
This resulted in selection for the NSW All School Team to compete in Queensland in September.