White Fern Suzie Bates shares a laugh with team-mate Eden Carson after defeating South Africa in the final of the ICC Women's T20 World Cup in Dubai last week. PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES
Hitting the mark
White Fern Suzie Bates shares a laugh with team-mate Eden Carson after defeating South Africa in the final of the ICC Women's T20 World Cup in Dubai last week. PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES
Otago great Suzie Bates must have pulled some strings because the first stop in the White Ferns T20 World Cup trophy tour is in Dunedin. There were rumours fellow Otago player Eden Carson had convinced the powers-that-be that a side trip to Ranfurly was a good idea — she hails from that way. The official schedule does not include the Central Otago town. But, hey, it is only an hour and a-half’s drive away. Hopefully the White Ferns get a good crowd at Forsyth Barr Stadium tomorrow. They were widely written off prior to the tournament (Notes From Slip may or may not have asked, for a friend, whether they were the worst national team in New Zealand) but got stronger as the tournament went on and saved their best performance for the final. Ideally, they would have returned to New Zealand immediately after their stunning success but had a trip to India to play in a three-game ODI series instead. That delay may have taken some of the sting out of the welcome home.
Clubbing it
The Dunedin premier grade starts today and it is great to see so many former and present players get involved in coaching at that level. Vaughn Johnson is back for another stint with Taieri. Derek de Boorder is still involved with North East Valley, who are chasing a third consecutive banner. Hamish Rutherford is coaching Albion.
Max Chu is listed as the CDK coach, and Dale Phillips and Andrew Hazeldine are co-coaching University-Grange. Chu, Phillips and Hazeldine have a punishing playing schedule with the Volts, so they might not be available that often. But it is nice to see them chipping in and helping inspire the next generation of players.
The declaration
What is it with this compulsive urge to practise the shot you have just got out to? You see some immaculate forward defensive shots played in the moments after a dismissal. Probably no-one practises them beforehand these days. Net sessions seemed to be reserved for perfecting the reverse sweep, right? But what is it about cricketers that compels them to revisit the horror of the dismissal by reliving the moment and imagining a different ending? I guess it is better than the golfer, who is just ahead of you, taking 10 practice swings then shanking it into the rough and spending five minutes looking for it.
