Perhaps there was an angry neighbour at cow corner.
Some of us still cannot play the cover drive because that is where the backdoor was and, if you broke its glass panels, Mum would have ‘‘your guts for garters’’.
Rookie Otago player Sophie Gray did not have any of those problems growing up. Nope. Not at all.
Her father mowed her a strip at the local reserve, so she had access to all 360 degrees. Imagine that.
Paul Gray must have really wanted his daughter to play cricket. And his passion for the game has certainly rubbed off on the 19-year-old University of Otago student.
‘‘We lived up on a hill and we had this huge reserve in front of us and Dad mowed a wee pitch,’’ Gray said.
‘‘We had like a whole oval which was quite good.
‘‘He coached all my primary school teams and Kirsty Bond [former New Zealand cricketer] taught at my school, so I got some coaching from her as well.’’
Gray, who grew up in Kennedys Bush in Christchurch and has played age-group cricket for Canterbury, skipped last season so she could earn some money to ‘‘prepare the bank account for flatting’’.
She missed the game terribly.
‘‘It is quite a mental game and I really enjoy the challenge of going out there and trying to stay in the right frame of mind and doing as best as you can.’’
Her best has been pretty good so far. Gray made her provincial debut earlier this month when the Sparks travelled to Levin to play Central Districts.
She grabbed a catch, effected a stumping and top-scored with 36. Sadly, the Sparks were defeated.
It is a young team and they were up against the defending champion. But Gray loved every moment of it.
‘‘It was very exciting and quite surreal to get out there.’’
The Sparks’ one-day side has the look of a development team. But the twenty20 unit will be bolstered by the return of Katey Martin and Suzie Bates.
Gray has trained with Martin in the past but has never met Bates, and she is looking forward to learning from the former White Ferns captain when she returns from the Big Bash in Australia.
‘‘Any of those girls in the Big Bash are [role models] and
that is the dream. It would be awesome to follow in their footsteps, she said.
‘‘If things went my way and the opportunity came up, I’d love to make a career out of cricket.’’
Gray will get an opportunity to continue her development when the Sparks host Northern Districts in back-to-back one-dayers at the University of Otago Oval this weekend.
‘‘I think there is still a really big drive to win games and wanting to achieve. And I think there is heaps of potential in the team.
‘‘Yes, everyone is quite young. But there is some really good players in the team but our focus is on coming together to produce some really good team performances.’’
