A young Mount Maunganui cricketer will never forget meeting her heroes before a White Ferns vs Australia match at the Bay Oval.

Lara Wright won the opportunity to be an ANZ Coin Toss Kid and experience standing side by side with White Ferns captain Amy Satterthwaite and Australian captain Meg Lanning as they decided who would bat and bowl last week.

'I'll always remember being on TV with the two captains and the humongous coin. It wasn't heavy but it was really big,” says Lara.

When the Omanu School student told her friends about it they all wished they could have done it too.

The 10-year-old wants to be a fast bowler one day and was inspired to play cricket after watching her brother play.

'I got bored watching him play so I decided to give it a go and really liked it.”

Lara really enjoyed meeting the players and got heaps of autographs. She chatted about her own cricket season and got to be involved in some of the White Ferns warm-ups.

'They did lots of weird warm-ups. They were passing medicine balls and I got to hold one of them.”

ANZ head of sponsorship Sue McGregor says Lara was one of 23 promising young cricketers chosen to take part in the pre-match custom this cricket season.

'After such a tough year for the country in 2020, it has been even more apparent the important role that sport and our sporting heroes play to inspire our future generations.

'We are so pleased to be able to continue creating these once in a lifetime opportunities for our future Black Caps and White Ferns. Getting to meet their heroes is something we hope will stay with them for years to come.”

The Coin Toss experience is part of ANZ's long-standing support of Kiwi cricketers. Since 2009 ANZ has given more than $1 million to local cricket players, teams and clubs. In addition, ANZ has donated $1 million in grants to grassroots cricket and netball clubs to help them get back up and running after Covid-19.