By JARROD POTTER
CRICKET is the game that keeps on giving Hope Kareta plenty to smile about after an incredible last week of indoor action.
Kareta, 13, from Hampton Park, is still fairly new to the Australian summer pastime – having only joined up on a whim to fill in for Dandenong West a couple of seasons back – but her star is on the rise as she’s reached the peaks of indoor representative cricket already.
She was not only picked for the Cricket Victoria under-14 indoor cricket squad, which headed off to Dubbo, New South Wales, last week for the national indoor championships, but was also its captain and an integral all-round part of the championship winning side.
“It meant a lot (to be named captain) – it was hard to take in,” Kareta said. “They said it was because I was supporting the girls, even at the trials I was loud, speaking up and supporting the girls.
“I’ve never been a captain before, but it was a great feeling to get it for Victoria.
“I was pretty nervous at the start, but I got used to it quickly, playing with the other girls and we got pumped up for the first game, won it and just carried it on for the whole tournament.
Leading the Victorian Hammer, Kareta and her team-mates blasted past ACT in the Australian Indoor Junior Championships finale to avenge a preliminary rounds loss and hoist the trophy.
“The previous game before our grand final – against New South Wales – we actually did really well and carried it on to the grand final,” Kareta said. “We started off well (in the grand final), won the toss and ACT was doing pretty good in the batting, but our bowling was on the feet and they couldn’t really bat to it.
“We had a positive mindset heading into it – losing is not an option.”
Kareta was also picked for the Australian All Star team to cap off her stellar winter and give her plenty of confidence heading into summer.
She’s not sure whether she’ll head across to Dandenong Lions Women’s Cricket Club or stay with Dandenong West in the DDCA outdoor cricket competition.
But the star all-rounder already has an impressive century against her name – which she smashed in 2015 for Dandenong West in the under-13 competition … without even knowing it.
“I was batting with my captain Jake (Goodes) and he helped me through it, so I was just batting where I bat usually,” Kareta said. “I didn’t know until I walked off the field and they were beeping the horns and telling me to put my bat up.”
Kareta wanted to thank her Victorian coaches for giving her the opportunity to captain the state.
