The allegations are similar to many made around the world of gymnastics.
Everything has a beginning, a middle and an end. It is no different in sport. But for those who dedicate their childhoods to just one sport, amateur athletes suffer the grief of loss of identity just badly as professional and elite level counterparts. But there is a big difference – professional sports are far more likely to recognise their former athletes need help in their time of transition, compared to the financially strapped lower profile amateur sports. Gymnasts, for example, as young as nine are being put onto elite pathways, dedicating at times upwards of 30 hours a week training. Some athletes have to choose between sport and education.
new zealand cricket museum
The Warm Sun on My Face: The Story of Women s Cricket in New Zealand, covers women’s involvement in cricket dating back to the 1800s
Traditionally, women have been left out of the cricket books, but that has changed thanks to a book shining the sun on the women who sacrificed so much for our summer game.
The Warm Sun on My Face: The Story of Women s Cricket in New Zealand, released this week, documents not only the on-field battles but the social struggles women faced in pursuit of excellence. It was a “labour of love” for author Trevor Auger, who spent “every spare waking hour” for nearly four years, piecing together the 676-page book.
Page-turner: 150 years of New Zealand women s cricket
13 Jan, 2021 01:28 AM
3 minutes to read
Richard Chilton with a copy of a book, about the history of New Zealand women s cricket, started by his late wife Adrienne Simpson, and completed by Trevor Auger. Photo / David Haxton
David Haxton is editor of Kapiti Newsdavid.haxton@nzme.co.nz
We know a lot about the history of men s cricket in New Zealand. But what about the women s game? Not much. Until now.
A new authoritative and entertaining book looks back through over 150 years of New Zealand women s cricket from its earliest humble beginnings to its glory days on the international stage.
Former New Zealand Cricket operations manager John Reid with Daniel Vettori.
John F Reid, the accomplished left-handed batsman and later cricket administrator, has been remembered by his peers as a dependable team-mate who was a great player of spin bowling. Reid, who played 19 tests for New Zealand – scoring 1296 runs at an average of 46.28, including six centuries – and then went on to have a career as an administrator, has been described as “classy”, a “gentleman”, a “visionary” and one of the “finest batsmen and servants of the game”. The Black Caps have worn black arm bands on the final day of the test against Pakistan in tribute to Reid, who died on Monday, aged 64.
54 contracted domestic women’s cricketers earn 88 per cent less than their male counterparts.
Several of the women’s players who take the field on Thursday in the first Super Smash T20 game will be earning 88 per cent less than their male counterparts, even though they are playing the same format, in the same conditions, on the same day. The gap comes from the base payments offered to male and female cricketers. Men receive a base retainer of at least $27,000 for the season, while 54 contracted domestic women across the six major associations – who sit outside White Ferns centralised contracts or casual playing contracts – receive $3250 “compensation”.