Sarah Tsukigawa
Former White Fern Sarah Tsukigawa uses her cricketing experience and knowledge to provide updates about women's cricket.
Playing cricket for your country is a dream come true. You join a small group of New Zealanders who have worn the fern for Aotearoa. However, when you make an international team the hard work really begins.
Any sportsperson could tell you about the hours of training, the early rises and late nights, fitting in trainings as well as trying to fit in life in general.
The White Ferns are a group of players that work exceptionally hard. There is no weekly cheque in the mail that pays the rent or mortgage or retirement nest egg to look forward to. Instead there is a job or study to juggle with the demands of fitness and skill sessions.
A coach of mine once said that it is never a sacrifice to play for your country it is a choice. Therefore, when you have to get out of bed early or miss out on a family/social event because of training, you have to remember it is a choice and not a sacrifice. Many White Fern players demonstrate these choices and one of them is Canterbury Magician captain and White Fern Amy Satterthwaite.
Amy has played for the White Ferns since 2007. She recently recorded a day in her life to give a glimpse of what it is like to be in the White Ferns.
- I rise at 6.45am, drive to work and work as a vet assistant from 8am till 5pm. My daily tasks can include anything from helping the vets calve cows to sending out invoices. It’s a fantastic job that I thoroughly enjoy.
- After work I head straight to the running track and complete a fitness session designed by our trainer Jason. Today its 500m x2, 400m x 2, 300m x 2 and 100m x2. My arms feel sore from yesterday’s weights session, I’m trying to get biceps as big as Sara McGlashans’, but not sure if I will get there...
- From there I eat in the car on my way to Saint Alban’s pre-season training. I am coaching the team this year so it’s great to be able to pass on some knowledge that I have learnt from my time in the White Ferns.
- At 9.30pm and I am in my car off home, feeling tired from the day but looking forward to the season ahead. We had a disappointing tour to England, so everyone knows that this is the time of year to put in the hard yards.
So there you have it a typical day for a White Fern. The women have a defining season ahead with the annual Rose Bowl against Australia in late January and England touring here in March.
