And of course for some godforsaken reason Hayley Jensen.I feel like the Blackcaps and the White Ferns have selection policies from the total opposite ends of the universe. Blackcaps you need to be over 35 to get a look in and won’t be dropped until the day you actually do drop. White Ferns if you’re over 25 you’re on the scrap heap (apart from two or three players who need to be kept to avoid losing every game by 200 runs plus).
I don't get it. Deliberately kneecapping the side with a "Young Guns" policy in the hope that it'll pay off later is stupid. The worst part about the recent run of losses is the fact that they were with a side we can't honestly call the best we can put up. The constant losses drum up so much bad press, it's ridiculous. The narrative around women's international cricket is one of improvement, of progress, yet the narrative in NZ is one of decay.I get the justification for the White Fern selectors, the jump from our domestic level of cricket to internationals is so large, it’s better to get those players exposed earlier. I don’t agree with it though … I think the answer is better funding for domestic cricketers to allow that level to improve and make it a viable career. More A tours. And I’d work hard on networking and giving players the chance to play in overseas leagues. The English stuff should be a priority, imagine if we could get 40 players over there each season, at various levels of course. That would be so good for development.
Again that comes back to players being fully professional and being able to go overseas for three months each year.