From Tasmania to Victoria and South Australia, Courtney Webb’s extraordinary dual-code journey has taken her to the world stage, where she now begins an exciting new international chapter.
The 26-year old is currently in India alongside South Australian teammate Darcie Brown with the Australia A squad for the upcoming T20 series against India A, which begins this weekend.
For Webb, the opportunity comes after a sporting journey that has taken her from the cricket fields of her home state of Tasmania, to the AFLW stage with Carlton, and now to South Australia, where she has earned selection for Australia A.
While cricket is now her main focus, Webb made her AFLW debut with Carlton in 2018 and says her time in the AFLW has helped shape the professional she has become.
“I think at the time I was playing, there were lots of girls coming from other sports as well that had grown up loving football, but just never had an opportunity to play it [AFL].” Webb said.
Webb was surrounded by athletes with a range of sporting backgrounds at her time in football, including players with experience in soccer, rugby sevens and netball.
“To bring together people from probably 5 or 6 different other elite sports, you just learn so much from one another, not just from an AFL perspective, but from what they've learned playing soccer around the world or rugby sevens at the Olympics as well.”
She took lessons from athletes at the highest level in different sports, learning their approach to preparation, professionalism and performance.
“I've got some life-long friends from when I was playing AFL and definitely learned so much from them”.
Now, Webb has another major milestone in front of her, as she prepares to represent her country with the Australia A team.
She’s already had a taste of what awaits, after traveling to Chennai in July, alongside SACA Pathways player Indira Panelli, for a week-long batting camp at the Chennai Super Kings Academy.
It was Webb’s first experience in India and provided valuable insights ahead of the Australia A tour.
“The way they train over there was fairly full on, really big days, but really enjoyable as well.” she said.
The experience presented a unique challenge, with Webb experiencing the demands of training in subcontinent conditions.
“It was really hot and challenging and just facing small issues like blisters immediately and the amount of sweat and having to change gloves.”
The camp also gave Webb a chance to gain experience with different wickets, while facing a variety of bowlers.