Canberra cricketer Blake Macdonald has earned a Sydney Thunder rookie contract as he looks to launch his Big Bash League dream.
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Macdonald shone in a field of 16 of the region's most promising cricketers to win a regional rookie deal with the Thunder at Manuka Oval on Friday.
Riverina product Claire Murray won the Thunder's Women's Big Bash League rookie contract and will look to follow in the footsteps of last year's winner Rachel Trenaman, who is now in the club's WBBL squad.
ACT/NSW Country Comets batsman Macdonald left Wests-UC this season to play premier cricket with St George in the Sydney competition.
The move is already starting to pay dividends with the 19-year-old rubbing shoulders with a host of domestic stars on a weekly basis - but there have been some tough learning experiences along the way.
He spent a day chasing balls to the boundary as Shane Watson hit 184 against him in premier cricket three weeks ago - which Macdonald laughs was "amazing to watch while also quite frustrating".
The long day in the field has Macdonald looking forward to being on the same side as Watson for once.
"I'm really thrilled to get the opportunity and it's going to be amazing to learn off some great cricketers up at the Sydney Thunder," Macdonald said.
"I think I'll learn heaps. Obviously there's [Aiden Blizzard], a familiar face that I've been able to learn off down here. Guys like Shane Watson, I could rattle off names for as long as you want.
"Just watching the way they go about training and the way they prepare for games will be a key thing for me to try and take my game to the next level.
"Obviously for Mac it was a springboard for him to go and get a rookie contract about a year later.
"I think if I go in with the same attitude as those guys and try and learn as much as I can, that it's going to be a great thing for my cricket."
The Thunder will host the Melbourne Renegades at Manuka Oval on January 24, with both men's and women's sides set to play in front of a packed house in Canberra.
Tickets are already flying out the door with less than 4000 remaining, with Canberra's response to the showdown being used as a measuring stick for future games.
Macdonald and Murray will both spend a week with the Thunder in the lead up to the Big Bash and reunite when the club plays in Canberra, opening the door for the latter to learn from her hero Alex Blackwell.
"[Blackwell] was from Yenda which is literally 15 minutes from where I am in Griffith," 17-year-old Murray said.
"She's just an inspiration, to know that someone from the area can get to that level. She's a veteran in the sport now, so it's good to see that someone from that area can make it that far.
"Just being with all the girls, they're all heroes of the sport basically, and we're the next generation so it's good to learn from them and gain the experience."
