At 38 years of age, Adam Berwick thought this moment would never come.
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The moment that he would wear the NSW Country cap and represent his state at the Australian Championships.
On Friday, Berwick will finally get that opportunity when the competition kicks off in Toowoomba.
NSW Country's opening Twenty20 match against South Australia Country will mark the end of a winding, 20-year journey for the Balgownie top-order batsman, and having spent so many years trying to get there, Berwick is eager to make the most of the opportunity.
"Graeme Batty and myself, we've grown up together since under 10s," Berwick said. "He's had a lot of success playing for NSW Country, and as a country cricketer, that's the pinnacle. Ever since I first represented Illawarra, it's a goal I've always had in my mind.
"It's extremely hard to get there given the quality of NSW Country Cricket over the last 20 years and getting to my age, this is one achievement I thought may have passed me by.
"I guess scoring hundreds in big games can persuade people to pick you. It's a nice feather to have in your cap coming to the end of your career."
Berwick earned selection for NSW Country after a superb century for Greater Illawarra in the Country Championships final.
As wickets were falling around him, Berwick dug in and ground his way to 105 on a tricky Keira Village wicket.
Batty, the man who has spent so much time on the field alongside Berwick, said that innings was a sign Berwick is ready to impress at the Australian Country Championships.
"He's watched my progress and always mentioned that he'd love to get a go," Batty said. "He hasn't quite put it together in the Country Championships, but he's put his name forward in the last couple of years and capped it with a hundred in the final in front of the selectors.
"He's always been a talented cricketer, but since he stopped playing AFL, his cricket's taken off. He's improved as he's got older, where others have dropped down. He's fit so even though he's 38, he'll survive what is a pretty gruelling nine days of cricket."
NSW Country will play five Twenty20 matches across the first three days, with the 20-over final set for Sunday afternoon.
From there, another five 50-over games will be played, with the final on January 11.
Berwick, who is joined in the NSW side by Lake Illawarra all-rounder Kerrod White, is confident he will play a key role in helping the team achieve success at the competition.
"Scoring a hundred against Newcastle in the final has helped me prepare," Berwick said. "Naturally people doubt themselves when they go to the next level, that hundred in the final against a strong Newcastle side gives me a lot of confidence.
"At this stage of my career, I'm enjoying my cricket and if you're enjoying the game, you relax more, enjoy being around people and hopefully the scores come with that.
"For the team, we have six or seven debutants, but guys in this team have been around for a long time and always contribute, I can't see any reason why we can't go all the way.
"Whoever we come up against, if we take the same approach, play strong, competitive cricket it should be enough to get us over the other states."
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