After almost nine months of preseason, the ACT Meteors will contest their second match in five days when they take play Tasmania on Wednesday.
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And for captain Angela Reakes, the games can't come thick and fast enough now the endlessly delayed WNCL season has finally begun.
Saturday's nail-biting win over Queensland was Reakes' first in a Meteors kit in about two years. A ruptured Achilles before the start of last season made sure of that.
All of the pent-up aggression and frustration induced by nine months of rehab and an eternally delayed summer came out with one shot to win the game on Saturday.
Requiring one run to win off the final over, Reakes dispatched a Courtney Sippel ball over the square leg boundary to ensure the Meteors made the perfect start to their campaign.
"It was really nice because we've put in a lot of hard work, I think it was nine months of preseason and there was a few injuries as well within that," Reakes said.
"The best bit about it was everyone contributed for us and as a captain, that's all you can hope for really.
"Just to be able to be out there at the end just made it that extra bit sweeter. I love playing for the ACT, it's home for me now.
"There was a lot of pride in that win."
The WNCL had originally been scheduled to begin back in September before the Women's Big Bash, but COVID-19 chaos put paid to that plan.
Myriad delays followed before Cricket Australia opted to adjust the schedule and start the competition in Canberra.
All the while Reakes was fully recovered from her ruptured Achilles and itching to take the field in a Metaors shirt once more.
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"I knew I was going to be out for nine months," Reakes said.
"Setting your expectations with a big injury is probably the hardest thing to get your head around and that was already automatic for me.
"I was just lucky that Cricket ACT have such a good system in place so I had everything covered from sports psych to physio to nutrition. There was really no reason that I couldn't get back and play."
The Meteors will be up against a familiar face in Sam Bates, who spent 10 years with the ACT before relocating to Tasmania.
"They're a really dangerous team and when they're hot, they're really good - it'll be another good battle like Saturday where the game was on the line almost every ball."
Wednesday: ACT Meteors v Tasmania Tigers, Phillip Oval, 10am
James Buckley
James is a Queanbeyan boy enjoying his second stint at the Canberra Times, more than eight years on from his first. In between he's traveled the world, and spent time covering sport in Sydney.
James is a Queanbeyan boy enjoying his second stint at the Canberra Times, more than eight years on from his first. In between he's traveled the world, and spent time covering sport in Sydney.
