Lyn Larsen is Lismore's most famous locally-born cricket player. She captained the Australian Women's Cricket team at the tender age of 22, played in 15 Tests and 49 One-Day Internationals including the World Cup victory in 1988.

Lyn's list of awards are impressive, NSW Hall of Champions, NSW Cricket Hall of Fame, Sport Australia Hall of Fame, Life Member Cricket NSW, Honorary Life Member of the MCC (Lord's cricket ground) and in 2020 was awarded the Member of the Order of Australia for significant service to cricket as a player, selector, manager and coach at elite level.

Last week, Lyn added to that list when she was inducted into the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame

For those that haven't read Lyn's life story, this is her Larsen's Sunday Profile. For those that have, enjoy reading it again for Lyn deserves the credit she has received.

I am a born and bred Lismore girl, being brought into this world at the Lismore Base Hospital on 3^rd of February, 1963. I lived my entire life at the family farm at Tuntable Creek where my parents, George and Beth Larsen, ran a dairy farm which later changed to bananas and beef cattle.

My grandfather came from Denmark when he was 15 and married Lillian Rose, whose family had selected a number of properties in Tuntable Creek, hence our address Rose Road, Tuntable Creek. My brother, Peter and I still run the family farm but with us both working, it is more of a lifestyle and a lot of hard work, than to make a living.

The other side of my family came from Nimbin and were quite well known. Mum, Elizabeth Faulks (daughter of Bert and Myra Faulks) grew up on a dairy farm as well. My great Grandmother Eleanor Stewart was the first woman to drive a car in the area and Nanna was a stalwart of the CWA, Anglican Church and Nimbin Show Society. Pop was well known for his dairy cattle and love of horses, rugby league and cricket. The family farm was close to the village and as such was secured as the site of the Nimbin Aquarius festival in 1973.

Some people might remember my family from the old-time dance band where Mum, Dad, Peter and myself would play dances, kitchen teas, 21^st birthdays and weddings around the Lismore district.

The Larsen band, May 1977 (I was 14). Dad (George) on drums, Beth (Mum) on piano, Peter (brother) on trumpet and Lyn on the button accordion.

I did my schooling at Tuntable Creek Primary School, a one-teacher school with anything from 12 to 15 children in total. My teenage years were spent at Richmond River High School before I did a Diploma of Teaching at Northern Rivers College of Advanced Education. I converted that to a Bachelor of Education, graduating with Distinction and being awarded the College Medal for Academic Excellence.

My cricketing career was not derived out of a childhood passion. My first love was tennis. Dad and I would play for hours on our home court. Cricket was always there though.

We used to play out the front of the house at home, at Pop’s place on the weekend and we played it a lot at primary school. In fact, sport was a big part of my early schooling. We did our schoolwork in the morning and in the afternoon we’d play a variety of games. The playground was quite hilly but there was a flat patch. We used to play matches against Numulgi where they had predominantly boys and we girls, and yes, we would come away victorious!

One day when I was 14 one of my friends from high school asked me to fill in one Saturday, this was my first official game of competition cricket. It was completely by chance. That became the summer ritual for Dad and I (he ended up umpiring) for the next 15 years or so.

I was selected in the Lismore team to contest the Country Championships the next year. From there the NSW Country Firsts, the NSW Under 21 side to play in Perth and the following year, 1979, the open NSW side.

My first Australian representation was in the Under 23 side in 1981 and then Vice Captain of the Australian Under 25 team to tour New Zealand in 1983. My full Australian debut was on the 1984 tour of India, where I celebrated my 21^st birthday. That was my favourite tour, probably because I had no responsibilities as such and could just enjoy being part of the team and embrace all that India had to offer.

I made my debut for Australia in 1984 and was made captain in 1986 at 22, the youngest captain at that time.

A 22-year-old Lyn Larsen at Oakes Oval after being named Captain of the Australian Women's Cricket team in 1986

I remember the first time I was named captain. I was batting in the final against Victoria at Flinders University, Adelaide when, at tea, someone asked me to go to the back of the change room building. I found myself in front of Sylvia Faram, President of the AWCC (Australian Women’s Cricket Council), who in her very distinguished English accent said "Lyn, I’d like to invite you to captain the Australian Women’s Cricket Team”. I can still hear those words.

Obviously, it was a very proud and life-changing moment. In lots of ways, that title defined me, who I was and what I did for that period, and was the catalyst for opportunities that emerged down the track. That became the ritual from 1986 to 1993, being called aside and invited to lead the team.

My most special memories are team/captaincy related, not so much me as an individual. I took 8 for 58 in a tour game in India, 4 for 33 and a half-century at the Gabba against England in 1985 and made 86 at North Sydney oval in a world record fourth-wicket partnership at the time with Denise Annetts.

Those individual performances were eclipsed when we won my first test as captain in England in 1987 when we defeated England in the first women’s 5-day test in Sydney with only seconds to spare before a torrential downpour which would have seen the game end in a draw and winning the 1988 World Cup at the MCG as captain.

The victorious 1988 World Cup team at the MCG

So much has changed in the world of cricket since I was playing. The standard and the skill level of the top players is fantastic. The contracts are very lucrative, full-time playing commitments through the year, media, crowds and a cast of support staff, it is quite surreal and blows me away.

Cricket for me was never a career when I started my journey. It was a love, an enormous commitment and a source of satisfaction and pride but it had to fit into everyday farm life and study and work.

There were numerous overnight bus trips to Sydney to attend trials and matches. I’d play club cricket Saturday afternoon at Richmond River Park, leave early to catch the overnight bus, get off the next morning and go to the trials or practice match then get back on the bus Sunday night and be back in Lismore Monday morning for school, college or work. Add Australian commitments to that and it was pretty full on.

Back in those days, you paid for everything at every level, so it was a big financial impost for my parents and when I look back on it, I feel quite guilty as I know they never had a lot, but there was never any hesitation in finding the money for my cricket exploits. I always said we probably owned Kirkland’s Bus Lines by the time I finished playing.

My other great support was the Lismore Women’s Cricket Association which hosted countless fundraisers.

I will never forget the Lyn Larsen appeal that was launched to assist my trip to England in 1987, a feature of that being the Women vs the Gentlemen of Lismore Cricket match on Oakes Oval, where the local businessmen donated generously to be involved. I was blessed to have such a supportive network of family and friends, and was always proud to be Lyn Larsen from Lismore because of that support.

I am so proud to say that I am a Member of the Sport Australian Hall of Fame, the NSW Hall of Champions, a member of the Cricket NSW Hall of Fame, Life Member of Cricket NSW and last year I was privileged to be given Honorary Life Membership of the MCC (Lord’s Cricket Ground). I am overwhelmed and to some extent embarrassed as I felt there were so many more deserving players.

I was a successful captain, not a great individual, so felt somewhat of an imposter receiving accolades based on the performances of my teammates.

My Mum had passed away at this time and my Dad was in the Nimbin Aged Care facility when I received my awards so my brother Peter was by my side. The staff in Nimbin photocopied the article from the Northern Star and put it up in his room, reading it out to him when they could. They said he was very proud.

Funnily enough, I never missed cricket once I retired. I missed the comradery and team side of things though. So loved my years managing teams as I got to watch cricket, to travel and had time to talk to people on the sidelines, something I hadn’t been able to do whilst playing. The opportunities that followed provided similar outcomes, so while I retired in 1994, I was still engaged with cricket in different capacities until 2012.

So, do I have any regrets about my playing days compared to now? None at all, and I think that is a view shared by many of my era. I heard one of the Australian girls say recently that on their last tour to India they got to do some sightseeing. That is a far cry from a young Lyn Larsen and her teammates who rode mopeds around Hyderabad in the wee hours of the morning, who slept in concrete stadiums with toilets that didn’t flush, who roamed the streets at will without bodyguards, who mingled with the crowds and supporters, who were billeted for the majority of a 2-month tour of England.

It is great to see where the game is, but I wouldn’t change my time for anything.