Lisa Griffith grateful for the opportunity to captain New South Wales

Called into a star studded NSW line-up, Griffith said she wanted to emulate her teammates - many of whom were her heroes growing up. However, she soon found herself grappling with the demands of the game.

“(It’s amazing) when you debut, and you see the calibre of athletes around you and you see what they’re capable of – the likes of Alex Blackwell, Lisa Sthalekar, Ellyse Perry and Alyssa Healy,” Griffith told Western Weekender's podcast Passion & Perspective. “You see the incredible things that they do and how you just want to be able to do that."

Having made her debut for NSW when she was 18, Griffith chose to walk away from cricket and move to the outback of Australia after she felt the mounting pressure of managing work, studies and cricket. At the time, she was 19, and juggling her Year 12 commitments with cricket.

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“In hindsight, as much as it was a rash decision, it was probably the best one I have ever made and one that has led me down this path of growing as a person."

“I just made this really rash decision that, I’m going to go up north to the outback of Australia and I’m going to get away from here and I’m going to get away from cricket.”

Five years after having stepped away, Griffith returned to cricket with Penrith Cricket Club and then  made it back to the NSW squad and also signed to play for Sydney Thunder in the third season of the Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL).

Griffith, who has played 29 matches in the WBBL so far, was appointed as the captain of NSW in September 2019 ahead of the Women's National Cricket League (WNCL).

“I’m just so fortunate to have stepped into a role there and so grateful that I get the opportunity to do that. For me, it’s more reflecting on the women that have come before me,” Griffith, the 29th woman to lead NSW, concluded.