All he really wanted to do from the time he was in his early years of high school, Sanjiv Weerasingham's passion to pursue medicine was solidified during a volunteering trip to Nepal.
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Through Projects Abroad, in 2019 the now 21-year-old spent two weeks in Kathmandu and Chitwan, teaching in schools and helping out in the hospitals there.
"It was really amazing," Weerasingham said.
"Obviously the scenery and everything is really good in Nepal, and the medical side of it was great as well."
He returned richer for the experience and "certain" medicine was where his future lay.
"Obviously the healthcare system is not as developed but still the care level is pretty amazing," he said.
"The patient focused care is pretty big over there and just seeing the impact they're having on the people really inspired me to keep going."
Now that passion has brought the Campbelltown native to Tamworth.
Studying medicine through the University of Newcastle, he is on a year's placement at the hospital.
Similarly passionate about cricket, after moving up in early January, Weerasingham was straight into it. He'd barely had time to unpack before he was taking the field for North Tamworth.
"I arrived on the Friday and played a Twenty20 on the Saturday," he said with a laugh.
Prior to the move, plying his trade with Waratah-Mayfield in the Newcastle competition, it was one of his club-mates, former Redback Mitch Salter, that steered him in their direction.
Top-scoring with 30 for second grade his first game, Weerasingham, whose first grade debut for Waratah-Mayfield earlier in the season came on the day they broke their 602-day winning drought, was elevated to the first grade side the following week.
On Saturday, he produced a crucial knock as the Redbacks scrambled to 114 in their first innings against South Tamworth.
In, in just the fourth over, he was a steadying hand as wickets fell consistently, and earned plenty of plaudits for his 35. He had to really dig in and was one of only two batsmen to reach double figures.
The other was Lincoln Peters (29), their 40-run stand for the sixth wicket a potentially decisive one with Souths finishing the day Souths 5-57 in reply.
Weerasingham's highest score for the Redbacks, it was also in his opinion probably his best innings for them. It wasn't easy batting, with the wicket playing pretty slow and hard to get in on.
You had to be patient.
"It was more about just spending time I think," he said.
"That's what Ricko (captain Brendan Rixon) spoke about during the week and was something I wanted to do today.
"I was focusing on just trying to face 100 balls."
He wasn't worried about the runs, it was about just getting through each over, knowing that if he did that, the runs would eventually come.
"Which is kind of what happened," he said.
"Towards the end of my innings the runs were coming a bit easier."
He attributed the change in mindset to his change in fortunes, along with a little technical tweak or two.
Captain Chris Skilton led the charge for Souths with the ball with three wickets while George Wilson nabbed three and Nathan Mann two.
Matt Beattie (3) and Conrad George (4) will pick up the chase for them next week after the Redbacks bowlers returned the favour.
"We bowled really well in the afternoon so hopefully we can follow that up next week," Weerasingham said.
