A huge seven months lies in store for the White Ferns, beginning this week with the visit of England and culminating with the T20 World Cup in Bangladesh in September and October.
Starting on Tuesday in Dunedin, the world ranked No. 2 visitors will play five T20s and three ODIs, over the next three weeks.
For the experienced batter Maddy Green, it’s the start of another exciting period of international cricket. The 31-year-old made her senior international debut at the age of 19 and has 87 T20 and 67 ODI appearances to her name.
Although the right-handed batter doesn’t gather the same attention as some of her team-mates, her solidity in the middle-order is vital to the White Ferns as they look to turn potential into consistent success.
In particular, her ODI record catches the eye, with a century and seven half-centuries to her name, including 65 not out in just 69 balls in her last outing in December against Pakistan in Christchurch. Her ability to be wicket-keeper gives head coach Ben Sawyer flexibility if needed and her leadership skills (she is captain of the Auckland Hearts) also bring an assured presence to the squad both on and off the field.
Going into camp this time, there have been a few of her teammates missing, with captain Sophie Devine, all-rounder Amelia Kerr and bowler Lea Tahuhu on WPL duty in India. Devine and Kerr will miss today’s game, with their Royal Challengers Bangalore and Mumbai Indians teams reaching the later stages of that competition.
“The vibe in the team’s been really good. It’s been a little bit different in terms of not having Sophie, Amelia and Lea here, but, in saying that, it’s been nice having just a small training crew and a good couple of hit outs against the England A girls down in Queenstown and training’s been going really well,” says Green.
Green herself has experience of playing in overseas competitions and will be one of 18 New Zealand women available in the draft for this year’s The Hundred competition in England, with that draft taking place this Thursday morning (NZT).
“I think the more of our girls that we can get into those competitions the better, because it’s the closest thing we’re probably going to get to international cricket with some of the people you come up against when you are playing international cricket and I know for me, playing in the Big Bash [in Australia] has been hugely beneficial to my game,” says Green.
“I think it was a little bit of a tipping point, my first year in the Big Bash and going to the Brisbane Heat and being part of that winning side, with Melie Kerr, playing alongside the likes of Jess Jonassen, Beth Moody, Delissa Kimmince, it was quite cool to see them in a different environment; you don’t put them up on a pedestal as much.
“You realise they’re just like any other cricketer in New Zealand. They have insecurities and doubts and you’re able to learn a thing or two off them as well. When you go to those sorts of tournaments and you do well it helps your confidence leading into international cricket and for me that was a really cool experience,” she says.
Alongside the senior tour, the England A squad are also on our shores to play New Zealand A in three T20s, the first two having taken place last weekend in Queenstown, followed by three ODIs. For New Zealand Cricket, these A games provide a vital stepping stone from domestic cricket for the potential next generation of White Ferns.
“I think it’s a massive step forward for women’s cricket in this country. The more people we have playing high levels of cricket, more often, it’s only going to help breed the depth in New Zealand cricket and create further competition for places in the White Ferns, which is only a good thing, and it’s obviously rewarding some players who have done really well throughout the domestic season but are just off the White Ferns,” says Green.
“I think it’s a great platform for them to keep honing their skills and pit themselves against some really quality players that are in that England A side. I’m really looking forward to seeing how the girls go,” she says.
Green is one of the current White Ferns who have seen a shift from combining a full-time job with playing for New Zealand, to taking up a full-time professional contract so she can concentrate solely on her cricket career. Before taking up that contract, she worked as an analyst at ANZ.
“I’m grateful that I’ve had to have something outside cricket when I was first coming through, in terms of we didn’t have the level of professionalism and the payments that we’re getting now. Having had to study full-time and work full-time, it was good to see what life’s like outside cricket and also for me, having that thing to fall back on hopefully when my cricket career is finished, I think is only a good thing for my balance. At the same time, being a full-time professional now has made a huge difference in my game, I think,” says Green.
“It was pretty tough; I was very lucky at ANZ, they were incredibly supportive of helping me to be able to go to camps and go on tours and things like that. I constantly felt I was running from work to the gym, or training and didn’t have a huge amount of downtime or rest and relaxation time and that actually probably affected my health. I was consistently run down and sick and things like that.
“I don’t think I was doing either my job at ANZ or cricket to my fullest potential. It was a situation I had to go through but being a full-time athlete now, it makes a huge difference to me now, I think, in terms of me being able to really concentrate on my cricket and I feel like I’m fully prepared for international cricket and to keep improving my skills,” she says.
For the recent domestic season, Green moved from the Wellington Blaze back to the Auckland Hearts. Being in the capital was another positive cricketing experience for her, but she’s looking forward to helping a new generation of cricketers in her home city.
“It was really nice being back up in Auckland. I went to Wellington for four seasons which was a great experience and I loved being able to train and play alongside the likes of Melie and Sophie more often. I think that helped my game and it was nice just being in a different cricket environment.
“I think I’d been at Auckland for 10 seasons prior to that, so the ability to just break things up and go somewhere new I think was a good thing and something I’d recommend to people throughout their career, just trying to get different playing experiences,” says Green.
“But for me, going back to Auckland, Auckland is home for me, it was great. Obviously a very different team to when I was last playing there; I think I might have had two or three of the girls that were in the squad the last time I was here, so that was a different challenge, but quite refreshing too. For me I just want to hopefully be able to have an impact on a young group and help them to where they want to go in cricket.
“There’s so much talent in the Auckland region coming through, particularly in the bowling department, I think we’re going to see quite a number of people coming through to the White Ferns from that region hopefully in a few years’ time and if I can have a small impact on those girls and help them in their careers that would be a pretty cool thing to be able to do,” she says.
The White Ferns will have a reciprocal tour of England in June and July, with three ODIs and five T20s. As well as playing at the traditional women’s international venues such as Chelmsford, Bristol and Southampton, Green is excited the team will also play at some larger, higher profile grounds as well.
“Playing at the big grounds like the Oval and Lord’s, the crowds there are going to be pretty huge so it’s a really cool opportunity for our girls to play over there and ride the wave of success on women’s cricket in England,” she says.
With plenty of cricket coming up for the White Ferns, the undoubted highlight will be the T20 World Cup in Bangladesh, and Green is relishing the chance to go to another global showpiece event.
“It’s going to be a really good test for us in some pretty difficult conditions at times, so that’s really exciting. There’s going to be people in our squad who are going to a World Cup for the first time, so that’s really cool and at the same time we’ve got lots of experience in our group too, so obviously any time you go to a World Cup you want to do well and I know there’s a few of our girls in this team that have a few wrongs that we’d love to right on that world stage.”
1st T20I – Tuesday 19 March, 1:00pm – University of Otago Oval, Dunedin
2nd T20I – Friday 22 March, 1:00pm – Saxton Oval, Nelson
3rd T20I – Sunday 24 March, 1:00pm – Saxton Oval, Nelson
4th T20I – Wednesday 27 March, 1:00pm – Cello Basin Reserve, Wellington
5th T20I – Friday 29 March, 1:00pm – Cello Basin Reserve, Wellington
1st ODI – Monday 1 April, 11:00am – Cello Basin Reserve, Wellington
2nd ODI – Thursday 4 April, 11:00am – Seddon Park, Hamilton
3rd ODI – Sunday 7 April, 11:00am – Seddon Park, Hamilton
