READ MORE - Female first for cricket umpiring in Bendigo
BENDIGO'S Lisa McCabe will create a piece of history this weekend when she becomes the first female to officiate in a Premier Cricket grand final.
McCabe has been appointed to officiate in the thirds grand final between Melbourne University and Footscray at Merv Hughes Oval.
"I'm not one for accolades, but I guess it's a bit of a big deal to have your name being the first female to umpire in a Premier Cricket grand final," McCabe said on Thursday.
"It's a really exciting opportunity."
However, this is not the first time McCabe has created a slice of female umpiring history.
Back in October of 2015 McCabe became the first female to umpire in a senior Bendigo District Cricket Association game.
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McCabe's umpiring CV also includes being part of the panel that officiated at the Australian Female Under-18 Championships in 2017, and she now has a season-and-a-half of Premier Cricket experience under her belt.
"This is my first full season of Premier Cricket, so I'm very happy to have got a grand final already in what's really tough competition among all the umpires," McCabe said.
"A lot of the appointment comes back to a mix of the captain's reports after games, as well as the feedback from mentors and observers.
I'm not one for accolades, but I guess it's a bit of a big deal to have your name being the first female to umpire in a Premier Cricket grand final
- Lisa McCabe
"My umpire's boss at Cricket Victoria told me when I got the appointment that I am the number one ranked umpire in the third XI according to the captain's reports, so that is really pleasing."
McCabe, who is one of 110 Premier Cricket umpires, made her second XI debut earlier in the season.
She has umpired two thirds lead-up finals to this weekend - a semi-final between Prahran and Northcote and preliminary final last week between Footscray and Ringwood.
"The semi-final between Prahran and Northcote was really full-on," McCabe said.
"It was a tight game and basically lbw training all day... everything that went on the pads they went up for, so that was really tough.
"The preliminary final last week between Ringwood and Footscray was played with a great spirit of cricket and then I found out on Monday that I got the grand final gig, so I was rapt.
"I'm sure the pressure will be on again this week. Having had Footscray last week, I know they will play a tough game, but they also know the line not to go over.
"They ask the question, but they are very quick to keep the game moving.
"I've had Melbourne Uni once this season and their captain approaches the game in the same way... both teams are very respectful in that sense.
"No doubt the pressure will be on, but I'll just call it as I see it like I do every game. I'm really looking forward to it."
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