Hendriks was shocked when her name was announced as the winner, as like many at the event it was thought that six-time winner, Claire Widdicombe (Casterton District), would add another to her tally.

Widdicombe finished equal second on nine votes with Sophie Walker from Hamilton, but Tarrington was celebrating when Hendriks was awarded three votes in the final round and finished the count on 12 votes to secure the award.

Her win caps off a great summer for the all-rounder, not only named as the best in the HDWCA, but also played for Geelong in the premier thirds competition where she helped her team to a tie in the grand final.

“I started with MiloIn2Cricket and then played in the Under-12 competition, so around 10 years ago,” Hendriks said when asked how long she had been playing competitively.

“My first club was Tarrington where I played in the Under-12s, and then played with St Andrew’s when the girls competition began a number of years ago.

“When Tarrington entered a team into the women’s competition, I played senior cricket with them while also playing juniors for St Andrew’s.

 “I played in these two teams for a couple of years, developing my skills before I was asked to play in the junior boys with St Andrew’s.

“Then came some men’s D grade matches with the Drews and some rep comps including the HDWCA country week and the Western Waves Youth Premier League program.”

The extra work and games saw Hendriks get some additional opportunities to further her skills.

“After that I was invited to play for Geelong who had formed a new team in the Victorian premier league,” she said.

Hendriks has improved her game to where it is now through hard work and training.

“ When I was younger, I wanted to keep up with the boys because I sometimes found them a bit scary, however now that I’ve been exposed to some high level cricket, I want to play with good technique, which requires a lot of training, but the main reason is because I’ve always really enjoy playing and training,” Hendriks said.

Having progressed to the stage with her game that Geelong came calling, and playing in a tie let alone a tied grand final is something very few players, male or female, can boast of.

“It was such a close match with massive ups and downs during the game and at the last couple of overs we were all so focused not to let it get away from us,” she said.

 “It was really heartbreaking once we heard we had lost because of ladder standings and everyone was shattered, especially because some of us had lost the grand final the season before, but now I’m even more keen to do well and win a premiership with them.

Her involvement with Geelong has spawned a new career in coaching, with Hendriks taking on the Tarrington girls team last season which lead to her appointment as the HDWCA Under-14 Country Week team this summer.

“I’ve always admired my coaches, so I gave it a try last season with the Tarrington girls team, which lead me to coach the Under-14 Country Week side for Hamilton and it’s something I would like to get more involved with, but there’s still a lot to learn,” she said.

Looking ahead to the future and whether she will be still play for her beloved Tarrington in the HDWCA, Hendriks said she hoped to continue in the yellow and black.

“Im not sure what the future holds, but I would definitely like to continue playing in the HDWCA comp, as it’s so fun and inclusive and I love our team.”

“We’ve seen some great improvement this year so I would like to be there when we start to get things going.

“I would also love to have the opportunity to coach one of the junior rep teams again, that was one of my highlights for the season.”

Hendriks posted 211 runs for the summer as leading run scorer, and grabbed six wickets to earn her award.