With Australia requiring just one run to win the T20 World Cup final in Antigua, the magnitude of what Tayla Vlaeminck had achieved in the space of two months dawned on the 20-year-old Bendigonian.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
"I never expected to be at the World Cup in the first place, so when we needed one run to win and we were all lined up ready to run on the field it hit me,'' Vlaeminck said on Friday.
"That feeling was the most amazing thing I've experienced in my life.
"Winning the World Cup was next level. It's hard to describe, really."
It was only two months ago that Vlaeminck had her life turned upside down.
Instead of concentrating on university studies and cricket commitments with the Victorian and Melbourne Renegades squads, Vlaeminck was selected in the Australian squad for a home series against New Zealand, a tour to Malaysia to tackle Pakistan and then the T20 World Cup in the Caribbean.
Now, at just 20 years of age, she is a World Cup champion and on Thursday she joined her Australian team-mates for a public celebration with a huge crowd of fans at Federation Square in Melbourne.
"This morning we were talking about how far things have come,'' Vlaeminck said.
"Two years ago something like this would never have happened.
"A lot of the girls were saying that it's the biggest public recognition they've received for any of the wins they've had in the Australian team.
"I think the way the Australian team is playing is helping (draw the public attention).
"We're playing attacking cricket and making it an exciting game to watch."
Vlaeminck played one game at the T20 World Cup in Australia's only loss of the tournament against India.
She opened the bowling and took 0-9 off two overs, but it was her spectacular one-handed catch that caught the attention of the cricket world.
"I was nervous when I was told I was going to get a game,'' she said.
"To make my T20 debut at a World Cup was pretty amazing.
"I bowled okay and then I'm really not sure how the catch stuck.
"I had the sweatiest hands of all time, but somehow the ball stuck.
"I doubt I'll be taking a catch like that again anytime soon."
The catch went viral on social media.
"My friends and team-mates gave me a hard time about it,'' Vlaeminck said.
"Unfortunately, we didn't win the game. It would have been nice to win my first game."
There's no rest for Vlaeminck, with the Women's Big Bash League hitting off this weekend.
She'll get the oppotunity to make her long-awaited WBBL debut with the Melbourne Renegades against the Sydney Thunder at the Junction Oval on Sunday.
Vlaeminck has missed the past two WBBL seasons because of injury.
"Hopefully, I get picked,'' a humble Vlaeminck said.
"If I do get picked it will be awesome to get my Renegades cap."