From the young age of six years old, Emma Jackson and her brothers were kitted up with their flannels and had their bats and balls in hand.
Watching and admiring her older brothers play cricket ignited Emma’s love for the sport.
Condamine born and bred, the 22-year-old currently plays for the University of Queensland in the Premier League and is working towards representing Queensland Country for the State League in the January 2025 competition.
She kickstarted her career in Condamine playing for the local cricket club in her early years.
Emma slowly climbed her way up and found herself playing in Toowoomba for second grade at 15 years old then eventually in Brisbane for the Premier League at just 17 years old.
“The local cricket club was a small club that everybody in the region played for,” she said
“It was always great fun.”
Emma would accompany her older brothers to play cricket when she was young and thought she would give it a go.
“When I was younger, I used to watch my brothers and see what they could do and hope I could do the same thing.”
“My brothers played at Condamine and I was getting dragged along so I thought I might as well play.
“They are pretty supportive and they always watch my live streams and keep up with the scores.
“They are pretty much my inspiration and the ones who got me into it. Eventually they stopped playing cricket and I kept going.“
She said she’s always played cricket for the enjoyment and the journey it has taken her on throughout her life.
“It’s a nice sport to play and I get outside in the sun.
“It is very enjoyable when you get runs and it feels like you’ve achieved something and you make lifelong friends as well.“
Emma currently juggles studying full time in Sunshine Coast completing her Bachelor of Environmental Management as well as training weekly.
She travels to Brisbane to train at UQ for three hours once a week and games on the weekends.
Although a good chunk of her life is dedicated to cricket and at her young age, Emma has already achieved a lot for her sporting career but she said focusing on her studies is the main priority.
“I enjoy it at the moment and I will keep going while I can or while my body holds up,“ Emma said.
“At the moment I am prioritising study because it is so hard to get into cricket.
“I can’t just drop everything and hope for a contract, but at the moment I am going to focus on my studies to get a good job.
“I am hoping to look into regenerative waterways and how I can revitalise the eco system.“
Emma said her biggest thanks goes to her parents for the support they’ve given her over the years.
“Growing up in Condamine, we always had to drive at least five hours to Brisbane and they never complained about it – they have put a lot of time and effort in.“
Emma will go into trials this Sunday for south Queensland followed by Gatton in Queensland for the next round of try outs.
If selected, she will end up in Barossa Valley in South Australia, based there for the two week competition in January 2025.
“Preparation for this is just scoring lots of runs and doing the best I can,“ Emma said.
