Rising Southern District cricket star Ella Wilson claims 2019-2020 Shelley Nitschke Medal
Amid the coronavirus pandemic, a Southern District rising cricket star with a team-first attitude has been recognised for her strong Twenty20 campaign by claiming the Shelley Nitschke Medal.
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Ella Wilson prides herself on playing her role for the team.
That is why the Southern District cricketer was taking little notice of grade cricket’s awards count earlier this month.
The annual presentation dinner was called off and the count staged online amid the coronavirus pandemic but Wilson’s parents kept a close eye on results.
To her surprise, Wilson was named the 2019-2020 Shelley Nitschke Medallist as the Twenty20 women’s competition player of the series.
The right-handed batter made 149 runs at 18.63 across eight Twenty20 matches this past season to claim the award.
“I don’t think I make a big impact in the competition but I just love being part of it, helping the team,” Wilson said.
“Mum and dad were watching (the count) on Facebook but I wasn’t really following it, I was just sitting on the couch.
“I wasn’t really expecting too much.
“We were pretty excited but I was in disbelief as I couldn’t believe I was ahead of players who are quite good.
“It means a lot to me.”
The 16-year-old, who was also in the junior girls state squad, joined Southern District about six years ago.
She moved to the Stingrays after lining up in junior boys’ teams with Strathalbyn in the Alexandra and Eastern Hills Cricket Association.
Wilson says playing in boys’ teams has helped fast track her development.
“I also played with Southern’s under-14s for a bit as well and it was pretty challenging as the competition was a bit harder.
“A lot of the girls play in boys teams to improve their game and I thought it improved mine.”
Living in Mount Barker, it usually takes Wilson an hour to get to Stingrays’ training sessions.
But she did not mind because it helped “get my driving hours up pretty quickly”.
Although Wilson was proud to be recognised for a strong individual campaign, she said helping Southern win the Twenty20 title was the highlight of her season.