Twenty girls and Serena and Camilla from What Now? joined four White Ferns in a special training session yesterday afternoon on the eve of the team’s ICC World Twenty20 departure.
Before they left for the West Indies they spent some time with young cricketers from Cotswold and St Albans primary schools at the Cricket Express Centre of Excellence at Canterbury Cricket.
The participants were split into four groups led by a White Fern and put through their paces with skills, drills and relays including building a set of wickets, dressing up in cricket gear and juggling a bail and ball.
Serena and Camilla the Gorilla from What Now? along with the talented year five and six students showed they had what it takes to become a White Fern proving they could bat, bowl and catch with the best of them.
Each team was given points for their efforts. It was a tight competition, but White Fern Sophie Devine and her team came up trumps with 106 points, only one point ahead of their nearest rivals. It’s no surprise as Devine is highly competitive, and that attitude will be an asset to the White Ferns in the West Indies. “We are here to win,” she joked at the start of the training session. “But we are also here to have fun and that’s why we play cricket.”
Cotswold Primary captain Bayley Vaeluvaga, who was on Sara McGlashan’s team, said she thoroughly enjoyed spending the afternoon with the White Ferns and learnt a lot. “I want to be a White Fern when I grow up,” she said. “We learnt a lot about batting, bowling, catching and fielding and it was lots of fun.
“Go the White Ferns at the Twenty20 competition!”
St Albans school coach Glen McKenzie said the afternoon was a fantastic opportunity for the young players to mix with some of the world’s best women’s cricketers and wanted to thank everyone for their support. “This afternoon was awesome. In all the sports we are involved with, cricket gives us the most support and encouragement,” he said. “They gave the kids the opportunity to be involved in something like this, which many sports don’t do.”
Even though the afternoon was for the young players, women’s cricketer Emma Campbell helped run the afternoon said the senior players also got a lot from it. “We thoroughly enjoyed the afternoon and it was great to see the enthusiasm the kids showed,” she said. “That enthusiasm rubbed off on the White Ferns and I’m sure the girls will take it with them all the way to the Caribbean.”
The White Ferns will be on What Now? on Sunday May 9.
