When 14-year-old Olivia Porter stood behind the white picket fence and watched Rachael Haynes make her Big Bash debut at Howell Oval, she thought "I want to be on the other end of that."
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Having spent her teenage years following the Sydney Thunder from day dot, it's only fitting she's signed a one-year deal with the club ahead of the upcoming WBBL season.
It caps off a whirlwind year for the promising all-rounder, who initially joined Sydney as a local replacement player last year.
She led Universities Cricket Club to the NSW Women's Twenty20 title last season, before joining the ACT Meteors' roster in June.
The teenage all-rounder is excited to be part of the next generation of Australia's cricket stars, saying making her Thunder debut "would mean the world."
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"It will make me feel like I've accomplished my dream from when I started playing cricket as a 10-year-old in a boy's team," Porter said.
"I didn't know much about women's cricket at the time, but just to see how much it's grown means so much to myself and my family... for all the hard work we've put in together to get me where I am today.
"I remember watching the first ever WBBL grand final, there were only a hundred or so people. To see how much women's cricket has grown, I want to be involved with it and create history."
Porter is the 13th player to join the Thunder's squad for the 2020 season, following the signing of Sammy-Jo Johnson, Lauren Smith, Anika Learoyd, and the re-signing of South African quick Shabnim Ismail.
The entire 59-game season will be played in a Sydney hub, with round one to start on October 25.
For Porter, that means she'll make her Big Bash debut on familiar turf.
"I was really excited to hear it was just going to be in Sydney," Porter said.
"With all those grounds the WBBL is normally held at, they're the grounds I grew up playing cricket on.
"When I was younger I looked up to players like Alex Blackwell and Rachael Haynes, I remember watching them from the picket fence line and wanting to be at the end of that.
"To know the games are going to be in Sydney, it'll be rich in history of when I started playing cricket so I'm very excited."
Until the schedule is revealed, Porter will continue to focus on her Women's National Cricket League preparation with the Meteors.
Sydney Thunder WBBL squad: Rachael Haynes (C), Sam Bates, Hannah Darlington, Saskia Horley, Shabnim Ismail, Sammy-Jo Johnson, Anika Learoyd, Phoebe Litchfield, Olivia Porter, Lauren Smith, Rachel Trenaman, Tahlia Wilson.