It's the four-year Women's Big Bash League gamble that's finally come to fruition for the Melbourne Renegades.
The Renegades will feature in their first finals match in the competition's history against the Sydney Sixers on Saturday, four seasons after they decided to take the hard road in the competition.
The side was initially set up largely with pathway players by Cricket Victoria while the Melbourne Stars attracted established names, with list manager Duncan Harrison and first coach Lachlan Stephens picking the best of the state's young talent and other juniors from around the country.
They included teenagers Sophie Molineux and Georgia Wareham and then-22-year-old Molly Strano, while fellow youngster Tayla Vlaeminck came along two years later at age 18.
All of whom have gone on to play for Australia.
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"We were chatting as a group with a couple of the girls who have been here since day dot and we had some tough times early on," Strano told AAP.
"In our first year we won four games out of 14 so we haven't had much success in our past but now it's starting to turn around.
"In the past three months we've seen three of our Renegades girls debut for Australia so we sort of highlighted their names early on.
"It's been a nice to watch them develop and become really good first-class cricketers and international cricketers as well."
Even at the halfway point of this season, the Renegades looked set to miss their fourth finals despite the addition of international talent of Amy Satterthwaite, Lea Tahuhu and Danielle Wyatt.
But it took a seven-wicket flogging at the hands of Saturday's opponents in the Sixers for the team to kick into gear and make the most of their now-developed talent, as they won their next four on the trot.
"That was the point where I went, 'Geez, we're a really good cricket side and we can be a high-quality team'," Strano said.
"Traditionally we've always started quite slowly and I think it's because we've got a few girls from the ACT and a few from Sydney.
"That was a real line in the sand game at the SCG.
"We were able to turn things around and that's a credit to our group's character."
