Cricinfo Blogs
cricinfo.com About cricinfoblogs
Beyond The Test World Different Strokes From the Editor Girls Aloud Iain O'Brien Inbox It Figures
Long Stop Pak Spin Sarwan & Gayle Tour Diaries The Buzz The Confectionery Stall The Surfer Tour Diaries

Cricinfo Blogs Home

« Passive mentality has to change | | A team to contend with »

July 11, 2008

Posted by Haidee Tiffen at 2:25 PM in New Zealand cricket

Proud to be Kiwi
"We all make huge sacrifices to play a game we are tremendously passionate about, so any financial remuneration that enables us to free up some of that precious time is an enormous help" © Getty Images

The White Ferns have just finished their second winter camp and boy is it winter. Lincoln in the summer can be freezing at the best of times, and our touring teams will vouch for that, but this past weekend we were treated to snow. For some of the North Island girls it was the first time they had actually seen snow falling! As you can imagine, it was very exciting and naturally the morning run was cancelled and the girls decided to make snowmen instead.

The camp was full of cricket, more cricket, guests and fun. The highlight of the camp would have to been the Ready Steady Cook challenge. It involved everyone being split into three teams and getting a list of ingredients to create their master piece. One group, that I was proud not to be a part of, suffered a series of unfortunate events which led to their main meal tasting like cat food. The other two teams actually made edible food. Steve Jenkin was the only brave soul to eat the cat food meal which for interest's sake consisted of a tuna, asparagus, baked beans and avocado wrap, with a stuffed potato consisting of those ingredients all over again. Hmm, not ideal!

We had the pleasure of Cate Sexton, who was the manager of the White Ferns team that won the World Cup in 2000, speaking to the group. Cate is now the Black Ferns [NZ women's rugby] manager, who are currently the World Champions. She shared her experiences with both successful teams and told us what she believes is the recipe to World Cup victory. From my personal experience Cate is the utmost professional who played a major part in us winning the World Cup in 2000. For me personally, as the only player left from that winning team, it brought back some wonderful memories as well a reminder of how old I am.

We also had the exciting news that Suzie Bates was named in the Tall Ferns [basketball] team to compete at the Beijing Olympics. We are all very proud of her achievement and we wish her the best. She is a talented sportswoman with a massive future in New Zealand sport.

It has been interesting reading about developments in other international teams around the world. I am personally pleased to see the women's game improving in the area of player contracts. It is an exciting time to be involved in the women's game and I too, like Shelley [Nitschke], am at the wrong end of my career. Obviously seeing Australia follow the ECB and I am sure the BCCI will follow, it seems like a natural progression for New Zealand Cricket to address this area for their international women.

As most international amateur sports people can empathise with, it can be extremely stressful working full-time, training like a professional athlete, participating in cricket series and occasionally spending time with your partner, friends and family. We all make huge sacrifices to play a game we are tremendously passionate about, so any financial remuneration that enables us to free up some of that precious time is an enormous help.

The White Ferns have some amazing young talent coming through [especially in the likes of Suzie Bates and Sophie Devine], and if we can make cricket a more attractive option through some financial assistance, it will enable NZC to secure their talents for the years to come.

I am currently teaching at Hillmorton High in Christchurch. Ann Brokenshire my Principal and her support staff have been fantastic with juggling my cricket days off. My Head of Department, Melissa Ruscoe is the current captain of the Black Ferns, so Hillmorton High is leading the way in girl power.

New Zealand has a very small population of four million people. We realise that our population is probably the size of a small Indian wedding [Mithali, I know I am one of your 4 million …] and, as a Kiwi, this fact makes me extra proud of our achievements. The White Ferns' World Cup squad have very clear goals in mind and we are extremely driven to fulfill these. We are all proud to wear the silver fern, call ourselves Kiwis and tell everyone our home is New Zealand.

 
Post this story on your favourite website Feedback

Comments

  Post your comment
Posting Guidelines
Name:
Email Address:
Comments:
characters left
The Contributors
Mithali Raj
Mithali Raj, India's former captain, has been on the international circuit for a decade. In August 2006, she led India to their first-ever Test and series win in England and capped off the year by winning the Asia Cup - the second time in 12 months - without dropping a game. India, under her captaincy, also reached the World Cup final in 2005. Now, as one of the senior members of the side, and the premier batsman, a lot will be riding on her for the two World Cups - 50-over and Twenty20 - that India will play in 2009.
Urooj Mumtaz
Urooj Mumtaz managed to juggle a course in dentistry along with captaining Pakistan. Their most recent triumph was qualifying for the World Cup next year and the 22-year old Urooj will lead a young team to Australia in hope of creating a favourable impression of the Pakistan women's team among the other sides as well as back home. A legspinner, she has a hat-trick against Zimbabwe.
Cri-zelda Brits
Cri-zelda Brits became South Africa’s captain at the age of 23, standing in for Shandre Fritze in the home series against Pakistan in 2007. She followed this by captaining the side to a 3-0 series whitewash against the Netherlands as well as winning the first-ever Test between the two sides by 159 runs. In 2008 she scored her maiden ODI hundred and led South Africa to a spot in the World Cup after beating Pakistan in the Qualifiers final in Stellenbosch. She also coaches the Northwest women's team, based in Potchefstroom, and runs her own academy.
Shelley Nitschke
Shelley Nitschke combines playing for Australia and her state with working in cricket, as a school officer. A useful spinner, her batting is also worth talking about – she has developed into a handy allrounder. Her major achievements to date are winning the 2005 World Cup, taking 7 for 24 against England in Kidderminster in 2005 and being nominated for the ICC Women's Player of the Year in 2006-07. Although she has played netball, softball and basketball, cricket has always been her stand-out sport.
Ebony Rainford-Brent
Ebony Rainford-Brent made history as one of eight England players to be handed a Chance to Shine coaching contract, allowing her flexibility around training. A top-order batsman, she fought back from what doctors thought was a career-killing back injury and could one day bowl again – calling her determined is an understatement. She is on the Surrey Academy and her Super 4s side is Diamonds. Proficient in basketball and athletics, she settled for playing cricket … and the drums.
Haidee Tiffen
Haidee Tiffen has played for New Zealand for more than ten years and is now their captain, having begun her career with Otago Under-21s before heading to Canterbury. She has played representational hockey, basketball and rugby – but cricket is her passion and won out over New Zealand junior hockey. She is particularly proud of winning the World Cup in 2000, reaching the 100-ODI milestone and being skipper. Her experience also includes playing for Sussex for two winters and she was also part of the first female academy in Lincoln. Somehow she also finds time to teach Health and PE at Hillmorton High School.
Isobel Joyce
Isobel Joyce,a class bat with a steely mentality, comes from a family full of cricketers - twin sister Cecilia plays alongside her for Ireland and brother Dom for the men’s national team, while another brother, Ed, plays for England and Middlesex. Her first half-century came against a strong New Zealand attack in Dublin in 2004 and her figures of 4 for 20 helped her side beat Scotland by six wickets in the European Championship in 2001, where Ireland won all their three matches. Her 46 against Netherlands in the summer of 2007 helped to maintain her place in the World Cup qualifiers in South Africa. She was in outstanding form with both and ball during the tournament, scoring 148 runs at 37 and taking 10 wickets at an average of 7. She ran out five Pakistani players in Ireland's first match, before earning two successive Player-of-the-Match awards against Scotland and then Zimbabwe, against whom she scored 70 and took 4 for 10. She was named captain for their next series, against West Indies, after Heather Whelan pulled out because she was expecting.
Nadine George
Nadine George has been a regular for West Indies since her debut in 1999. She first led the side on their tour of Europe in June-July 2008, when West Indies thrashed Ireland and Netherlands while putting up a respectable performance against England. Nadine combines playing for West Indies and her national team, St.Lucia, with her day job as a Sergeant in the Police Marine Unit of the Royal St.Lucia Police Force. A left-hand batsman and wicketkeeper, Nadine says the highlights of her career are receiving an MBE at Buckingham Palace in 2005, being the first West Indies woman cricketer to score a century in a Test (in Pakistan in 2004), playing in the World Cup in South Africa (2005), and playing club cricket in Australia in 2006. Nadine also plays netball and volleyball and loves the marine environment and is passionate about diving. She is a qualified open water diver and during her working hours captains a 65 and 82 ft vessel. Her motto in life is "with hard work and dedication one can achieve".
Categories
Recent Posts
The pride of playing for New Zealand A batting lesson from New Zealand World Cup final - here we come Another step towards the World Cup final Time to bring on the A-game We keep exceeding expectations Can we beat New Zealand? We have been waiting for years to beat Sri Lanka Pulford's a star A disappointing start to the World Cup
Archives
April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008
RSS Feeds  Web Feeds
© Cricinfo 2009