I watched a bit of the England women practising a couple of weeks ago and have been keeping a close eye on the results, both the full series and the “A” series. Sophie Devine’s comments resonated because I couldn’t get over who from the Super Smash had made their way into the two teams. Respectfully, some of them just can’t play....
Players like Bates, Devine & Kerr are streets ahead of the rest, and the former two are in their twilight years and haven’t been consistent enough at international level for a few years to win us games. Kerr is a once in a lifetime talent, and on a completely different plane to those around her.
On the flip side I recently attended a NSW vs Victoria women’s 50 over game in Sydney and was shocked to find that some very impressive players that day are not part of the national set up.
Turning back to NZ I do wonder however if we hamstring ourselves further with selections. Given Devine’s comments it would seem that good players should have a longer shelf life and there shouldn’t be too much rush to turn them over if there is no depth to replace them from. Why then have players like Frankie McKay and Kate Ebrahim been phased out so readily? Also don’t understand how Zara Jetly is not in the top 25 players in NZ after a solid Super Smash and a season playing mens cricket in England.
Here it feels a bit like a amateur game that has been conferred professional standing before it was earned but we still need to make the best of the situation.
One positive from the dire state of women's cricket in NZ - I've enjoyed the commentary of Martin and Mackay, for different reasons.
Mackay is the same in the comms box as on field - not scared to have a go. She has fired some serious broadsides when given the chance, often to the discomfort of her co-commentator. But its a peek behind the Devine-curtain of blaming the set up, and while Satterthwaite kept a dignified silence about her dropping, Frankie has gone in to bat on her behalf
Martin has been a revelation with her technical knowledge - she likes to joke around and be a bit of a goose sometimes but the serious analysis she brings is a real strength. I suspect she would eviscerate a lot of the White Ferns' techniques etc if she wasnt so close to many of them. Give it a year or two and a new generation of players
Dylan. Looks like Sky sports not showing IPL that starts imminently. Bit disappointing. Any ideas on best option for recording and fast forwarding or good highlights packages
Very late to this but I meant to comment on the gambling aspect. We don't need to look as far afield as Japan or the Premier League to see how much this is a part of the sports environment. Back in the day we had old mate Staffy from TAB with his extraordinary access to live sports broadcast audiences each weekend. Now we now have more insidious things like overseas betting companies like dafanews (a shell company for dafabet) with billboards at test cricket, or other companies that advertise websites that are just one letter away from a gambling website to guide search engines and avoid legal issues. NZ is lucky to have strong harm minimisation policies but they are game-able and need monitoring.
Another great column Dylan, thank you.
I watched a bit of the England women practising a couple of weeks ago and have been keeping a close eye on the results, both the full series and the “A” series. Sophie Devine’s comments resonated because I couldn’t get over who from the Super Smash had made their way into the two teams. Respectfully, some of them just can’t play....
Players like Bates, Devine & Kerr are streets ahead of the rest, and the former two are in their twilight years and haven’t been consistent enough at international level for a few years to win us games. Kerr is a once in a lifetime talent, and on a completely different plane to those around her.
On the flip side I recently attended a NSW vs Victoria women’s 50 over game in Sydney and was shocked to find that some very impressive players that day are not part of the national set up.
Turning back to NZ I do wonder however if we hamstring ourselves further with selections. Given Devine’s comments it would seem that good players should have a longer shelf life and there shouldn’t be too much rush to turn them over if there is no depth to replace them from. Why then have players like Frankie McKay and Kate Ebrahim been phased out so readily? Also don’t understand how Zara Jetly is not in the top 25 players in NZ after a solid Super Smash and a season playing mens cricket in England.
Here it feels a bit like a amateur game that has been conferred professional standing before it was earned but we still need to make the best of the situation.
One positive from the dire state of women's cricket in NZ - I've enjoyed the commentary of Martin and Mackay, for different reasons.
Mackay is the same in the comms box as on field - not scared to have a go. She has fired some serious broadsides when given the chance, often to the discomfort of her co-commentator. But its a peek behind the Devine-curtain of blaming the set up, and while Satterthwaite kept a dignified silence about her dropping, Frankie has gone in to bat on her behalf
Martin has been a revelation with her technical knowledge - she likes to joke around and be a bit of a goose sometimes but the serious analysis she brings is a real strength. I suspect she would eviscerate a lot of the White Ferns' techniques etc if she wasnt so close to many of them. Give it a year or two and a new generation of players
Dylan. Looks like Sky sports not showing IPL that starts imminently. Bit disappointing. Any ideas on best option for recording and fast forwarding or good highlights packages
Very late to this but I meant to comment on the gambling aspect. We don't need to look as far afield as Japan or the Premier League to see how much this is a part of the sports environment. Back in the day we had old mate Staffy from TAB with his extraordinary access to live sports broadcast audiences each weekend. Now we now have more insidious things like overseas betting companies like dafanews (a shell company for dafabet) with billboards at test cricket, or other companies that advertise websites that are just one letter away from a gambling website to guide search engines and avoid legal issues. NZ is lucky to have strong harm minimisation policies but they are game-able and need monitoring.