Manuka Oval was a stepping stone to the Women's Twenty20 World Cup.
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Now Erin Burns hopes to play a part for Australia there against Bangladesh.
Burns spent two seasons playing for the ACT Meteors, with her time in Canberra helping her develop into the player that got picked for Australia's World Cup squad.
The Wollongong product also grew up playing junior representative games at Manuka.
But it was those two seasons with the Meteors that allowed her to feel settled and when the allrounder's career started to take off.
Until then she'd been playing for Tasmania in the WNCL and the Hobart Hurricanes in the WBBL.
She got to the point where she was wondering whether she could continue her career in the Apple Isle.
Her time with the Meteors led to her signing with the Sydney Sixers and then the NSW Breakers.
Now she's on the verge of being part of Australia's World Cup campaign, after making her T20 and one-day international debuts for Australia last year.
"The last couple of years in particular is where I felt like my cricket's taken up to the next level," Burns said.
"That in part is Meteor stuff, but being able to be part of the Sydney Sixers as well.
"Both of those teams allowed me to remain a little bit more stable in terms of where I was living and a little bit less movement around, which I really, really relished.
"The ACT girls are just fantastic, the group and the vibe, and the support that they give one another was amazing.
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"I certainly think that time in my life was the next stepping stone up to these national honours, which I've been fortunate enough to be part of the last six months or so."
The 31-year-old's mother still lives in Wollongong, while she's got an aunt and cousins in Canberra.
Her family have pre-purchased tickets. Now she has to get picked.
Australia begin their campaign against India in the World Cup opener at the Sydney Showgrounds on Friday.
They then play Sri Lanka before taking on Bangladesh at Manuka Oval.
Cricket ACT are hoping to get a sellout for that game - which would be the biggest crowd for a women's game at Manuka.
Burns hoped that was the case at a ground she rated as one of the best in the country.
While there are great expectations on Australia, she was expecting the defending world champions to thrive under the pressure.
"That does set a fire in the belly so to speak," Burns said.
"Not only having that past success with recent competitions, but also being defending champions we're very aware there's a bit of pressure on us.
"Not only from a defending champion's point of view, but also a home World Cup point of view.
"It's something that as a group we're just looking forward to going out there and showing our skills.
"And showing not only Australia, but the world, what we can do."
WOMEN'S T20 WORLD CUP AT MANUKA OVAL
Wednesday: England v Thailand, 3pm; West Indies v Pakistan, 7pm.
Thursday: Australia v Bangladesh, 7pm.
February 28: South Africa v Thailand, 3pm; England v Pakistan, 7pm.