Mikayla Hinkley is a journey-woman of Australian cricket.

The 26-year-old was the first player to represent four Women's Big Bash League clubs, and has returned for a second stint with the Perth Scorchers, seven years after her first.

She's learnt a lot in that time.

"I think when you're young, sometimes you get caught up in wanting to be more like a particular cricketer that is successful," Hinkley said.

"But now I kind of have my own cricket identity and how I play, and my flair.

"That's something that I've really embraced probably only over the last 12 to 18 months."

Cricket hasn't just provided Hinkley with a sporting career, it's also allowed her to connect with her Indigenous heritage and become a role model for aspiring Indigenous athletes.

"My mum's from a remote desert community in south-west Queensland, Cunnamulla," she said.

"I didn't grow up out there, I actually grew up in Western Sydney.

"Where I grew up gave me more of an opportunity to play cricket because I wasn't in a remote region.

"I got more opportunity through sport, but I wasn't as connected to culture because I lived so far away from my country."

Balancing sport with connection to country

During her time with the Brisbane Heat, Hinkley sat on the Queensland First Nations Cricket Advisory Committee which aimed to increase Indigenous participation in cricket.

She sees facilitating a connection with country while providing a sporting pathway as a major step to increasing First Nations participation.

"I see that as a barrier for a lot of First Nations athletes, that to get good opportunity, they've got to move away from home," she said.

"If I'd grown up on country and away from major city centres, then I probably wouldn't be playing professional cricket."

But Hinkley believes maintaining that connection once a sporting career begins is equally as important.