It was a busy 2009/10 domestic season for the Wellington women but for some of them it was only the start of the long year of cricket ahead.
Three members of the Wellington Blaze headed off shore to play both international and county cricket in the UK and they are now back sharpening their skills on New Zealand turf.
Following the final of the women’s One-day domestic competition in Napier that was washed out without a ball being bowed in late January, Blaze trio Lucy Doolan, Sian Ruck and Liz Perry went on to represent the White Ferns before heading to the UK. They participated in the Rose Bowl series against Australia, then represented New Zealand at the ICC Women’s World Twenty20 Cup in May before playing England in July and taking up their positions in English County cricket until the end of September.
Following the ICC Twenty20 competition in May, in which New Zealand missed out to arch-rivals Australia on the last ball of the final, the trio, along with White Ferns teammates Rachel Priest and Amy Watkins, headed to England for a season on the women’s county circuit.
Spread far and wide, Doolan played for Nottinghamshire, Perry for Yorkshire, Ruck for Essex and the Central Hinds pair of Priest and Watkins for Staffordshire and Devon respectively.
Unlike the New Zealand domestic women’s competition the English Women’s Championship is split into four National Divisions of six teams each.
Each Division contest promotion and relegation annually with teams playing each other both home and away throughout the season in 50-over matches, while the Twenty20 competition is split up into separate regional competitions and the winners of these meeting in national finals.
Left arm opening bowler Sian Ruck’s Essex side finished second in the Division 2 Championship behind Middlesex, narrowly missing out promotion to the first division. Both team won eight from 10 games, with Middlesex finishing on 144 points and Essex on 143. Playing in Division 1, Perry’s Yorkshire and Doolan’s Nottinghamshire finished fourth and fifth respectively.
Halfway through the English County season the players linked up with the White Ferns to play a series of three Twenty20s and five ODIs against England.
Doolan headed for Nottingham and played part of the season for them before rejoining her New Zealand teammates on their tour of England. She said her time away puts her in good stead for the 2010/11 season. “With batting I’ve found my place opening. I think that is the best place for me so I want to try and secure that spot this summer and I hope to be able to build a good platform for the others in the team to work off,” she said. “Regarding my bowling I’ve become really focused with an importance on consistency and my change ups.”
The women’s domestic Twenty20 and One-Day competitions start in December and Doolan is hoping her ample experience during the New Zealand winter will contribute to the Blaze lifting the silverware this year. “We’ve been very consistent over the last couple of seasons, either making it into the finals or getting very close,” she said. “The girls have been together for a couple of seasons and everyone is working really hard. They’ve got a really good work ethic and everyone’s getting in there and working hard, so hopefully we can pull it off this year.”
Doolan has also been a main-stayer within the White Ferns side for the last two years even though she missed a lot of cricket last summer because of injury. She is looking forward to the challenges International cricket against trans-Tasman rivals Australia brings. “Over the last few tours we’ve had it over the Australians,” she said. “We seem to do better at Twenty20 games. We are looking forward to playing more T20s against them. It suits our style a lot more. We are quite attacking.”
She knows the women who headed off shore during the “off season” will come back with improved skills and she knows that experience will allow the White Ferns to turn their ICC Twenty20 result on its head. “Australia is always tough and they are never out of the game until the last ball. They pipped us on the last ball at the ICC World T20 competition in the West Indies. So it’s time to get some revenge!
“It’s been about 11 years since we’ve clearly won a Rosebowl series. We want to get in there, grab the win and make history.”
Doolan is also looking forward to playing cricket which will be televised. Sky will televise their games from Hamilton and Nelson, including a double header with the BLACKCAPS. Doolan missed out on last year’s opportunity to play in front of the camera and will relish the opportunity this season. “The public haven’t had a lot of exposure to women’s cricket and I think a few people will be surprised at how the girls actually play; big hits, bowling quick and great catches,” she said. “Obviously anything to help draw the crowds, like playing a double header with the BLACKCAPS, is good. We are looking forward to playing at the big parks on good decks.”
