When Lisa Hunt met with Dubbo District Cricket Association to discuss the formation of a junior girls' competition she asked what amount of players was the goal.
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"They said they didn't really care, as long as there was something," she said of the initial plan.
The 'something' that was formed developed into something far better than Hunt, the association, or anyone else invovled could have expected and that effort was recognised on Thursday.
The Dubbo Junior Girls' Cricket program was awarded the Cricket NSW Women and Girls Initiative of the Year award.
It came as part of Cricket NSW's 'A Sport for All' awards and it, much like the success of the program, came as a shock.
"We've put a fair bit of effort in so it's exciting to get that acknowledgement," she said.
"It was my first attempt doing anything like this so to have this number of girls interested in cricket was awesome ... we didn't expect that many."
More than 80 players regularly took part in the program but that wasn't the main reason for the award.
It had much more to do with the way players were recruited and kept in the game.
Rather than just holding a registration day or hoping parents would sign their children up online, Hunt was proactive and almost non-stop is working to approach potential players while the development of a three-way relationship also played a major role.
The program began to work closely with schools, with friends and classmates who had taken in PSSA competitions encouraged to sign up together to ensure they remain in the same team.
Cricket NSW's Development Manager for the Far West region, Matt Ellis, also assisted as someone who has a passion for seeing the women's game grow.
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On top of that, association officials like Glenn Shepherd, the parents, and current players like Emma Hughes, Emily Atlee, and Tom Coady who put their hand up to help on game days also played a big role in the growth.
"I was always asking friends and their friends," Hunt laughed.
"Anyone I knew with daughters I'd be asking them if their girls wanted to play. I've got three kids and it got to the point where they were telling me to stop asking people.
"But we'd talk to teachers as well, it was all good."
As much asking around as there was, in the end it all came down to the young players and their willingness to give it a go.
"The key was not just trying to get an individual," Hunt said.
"But I'd get a friend or someone and tell them they were a team manager and then their daughter would get five friends and that's how it grew.
"I think that's why it worked. They were with friends, wearing the same team colours and that kind of thing."
Hunt admits cricket can be a "boring" game at times so the goal was never just about having a lot of young players turn up, it was about having them enjoy the game and the environment it was played in.
"The first week they were having a giggle and some were doing handstands in the field, just having fun and chatting, and then it was such a relief to see them come back the second week," she said.
"It was when we had some really hot days as well so I was a bit worried about that but we only had five players not turn up.
"The girls were actually enjoying it and the parents were too, they stayed and sat on the hill watching and chatting together."
the success of the program was clear last year when Cricket NSW Female Participation Specialist Samantha Devlin came to Dubbo take take a closer look.
While taking in games at the Lady Cutler ovals she said the program would be one which would be recommended to associations all over the state.
The plan for Hunt ahead of next season had been to regularly attend weekend netball competition during winter to attract more players to cricket in the summertime but that all remains on hold for now.
Hunt is staying realistic, with sustaining the current numbers for next season the goal.
The long-term hope is to expand and keep the girls interested in cricket, so they can eventually have a girls side in the regular Saturday morning juniors competition.
"It will take a couple more years to become established," Hunt said.
"It's about getting the formula right but it's exciting we're getting noticed and we're obviously doing something right if people want to replicate it."