It was a total shock to Charmaine Whyman but the Tasmanian Cricket League's treasurer was honoured with life membership at the association's awards dinner.
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Joining the committee in 2014 as secretary, Whyman has covered an array of different roles including rostering, MyCricket training, sponsorship and orchestrating the Female Boom competition, but her life membership induction took her by surprise.
"I don't know how they kept it from me but it was a total shock," she said.
"The room were very kind and lots of people came up and thanked me, but me, I was in total shock - I couldn't get any words out and ended up crying on stage.
"I'm more of a background person rather than speaking in public to a room full of people."
Beginning her involvement in cricket with Evandale when they were involved in the now-defunct Northern Midlands Cricket Association, it was by chance that Whyman's behind-the-scenes work got started.
ELSEWHERE IN SPORT
Watching her partner at the time play, she found the game boring but wanted to keep track of it.
"I started scoring on a notepad just so I could see roughly where things were in the game because I was a bit shy and didn't like to go over to the clubrooms - that was their domain," she said.
"They were short one day and I offered to learn how to score, I had some good mentors that way so I've passed back on teaching everyone else since."
While her contributions to the association began in an off-field role, the life member was an integral part in forming - and has played in - the TCL's Female Boom competition over the past six seasons.
Over her continued involvement with cricket, she said creating the women's competition is her highlight.
"I'm pretty proud, more of how the girls in the competition are going," she said.
"I said that my biggest achievement has been getting that competition up and going, watching it grow and all the girls having fun and growing in the competition. "
Whyman thanked Darrell Whyte, Steve Woods, Denis Hume and Max Clarke, who flew from Victoria to present her with the accolade, for their assistance.