CLAIRE Moore stands out among the rest of her Hawkesbury Cricket Club team mates.
On September 15, Moore, along with many other of the brightest young Hawkesbury cricketers received their club caps at a presentation ceremony at Bensons Lane.
Among the sea of young boys there from age groups under-11s to under-16s, Moore was the only girl in the group.
Moore, 11, was picked in the under-12s team, along with 10 boys. Moore plays for the Richmond Cricket Club with the boys as well, but also plays in a girls’ team based at Penrith.
Moore could count on one hand the number of other female cricketers who were roughly her age in the Hawkesbury. In fact she only needed two fingers to count them all.
‘‘I started playing cricket with my brother when he was playing under-12s. I was eight,’’ she said.
‘‘I was filling in for some of the boys and then I just kept playing. I like playing cricket with the boys.’’
It would be fair to say Moore just likes cricket. She is in three teams and in the next few months will go to two cricket camps.
‘‘I am going to Dubbo for a carnival with school in November with the Mackillop team and I am going to a camp with NSW in the holidays as well,’’ she said.
Moore also plays in an under-13s girls team at Penrith, where she will possibly be the captain or vice-captain.
Playing at Penrith is set to become a regular thing for Moore, because there are no options for female cricketers in the Hawkesbury.
However, for Moore, playing at Penrith is fine, even with the travel, as long as she is playing cricket.