\u201cIt\u2019s really nice to reconnect with them in something we\u2019re all very passionate about,\u201d former White Fern captain Satterthwaite says. \u201cWe just want to keep giving back and helping the game. And that\u2019s really cool to see.\u201d<\/p>\n
Peterson, who played 65 times for the White Ferns, has returned to cricket after leading Auckland Rugby\u2019s women and girls strategy. Tuskigawa (61 caps) was a New Zealand selector and assistant coach of her former team, Otago Sparks, while teaching in Dunedin.<\/p>\n
With more than 200 appearances for New Zealand, McGlashan was a trailblazer for professional women cricketers \u2013 one of the first four women awarded a NZ Cricket contract back in 2013. She spent two years at Cricket Tasmania as their female pathway coach before returning to make an impact here.<\/p>\n
Part of her overarching role is to ensure the pathway leads connect and learn from each other.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s awesome we now have roles just overseeing the women\u2019s game, and even more exciting past New Zealand players are in those roles,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey know the journey the players are on. Some have daughters themselves. And all three of these women are hands-on with coaching too.<\/p>\n
\u201cKnowing Anna, Sara and Amy will have such an impact on those young girls is so good. They\u2019re knowledgeable, they\u2019ve got experience and expertise, but they\u2019re just so passionate about it, which is crucial for young girls to see.\u201d<\/p>\n
Satterthwaite is aware of not always harking back to her playing days when working with young women.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut there\u2019s an element of reflecting, when you\u2019ve lived it and looked at the opportunities you had in cricket,\u201d she says. \u201cNow it\u2019s about increasing the opportunities available and improving the programmes, support and resources for female players and see where they can get to.\u201d<\/p>\n
McGlashan sees the major change to the pathways girl cricketers follow today has been the growth in the profile of the women\u2019s game.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs a kid I\u2019d try to get off school to head down to McLean Park and watch the White Ferns play in the Rose Bowl against Australia, and that was about all I saw,\u201d says McGlashan, based in the Hawke\u2019s Bay.<\/p>\n
\u201cYoung boys would watch men\u2019s cricket on TV and learn a lot, but it wasn\u2019t the same for girls. Now the women\u2019s game is growing so fast around the world \u2013 you can turn on TV and see the WBBL most nights.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a massive win, but it means we\u2019ve had to put these people in crucial roles to make sure the young players are being exposed to skill development along their pathway.\u201d<\/p>\n
The female pathways programme<\/a> has had a boost in funding from a joint initiative between NZ Cricket and the major associations, following Project Push On, a working group set up last year that saw a gap in the pathway system.<\/p>\n McGlashan admits it\u2019s difficult to compete with the women\u2019s budgets of Australia, England and India, so it\u2019s about doing things smartly. \u201cWhile we\u2019re not like the big three, there\u2019s a cool uniqueness about what we can do and the access to players and the genuine care for the players in the game,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n Both Satterthwaite and McGlashan are excited by the young talent they\u2019re seeing, especially girls in their early teens.<\/p>\n The rise of 12-to-14-year-old girls fits with the timing of the game growing in the public eye, says McGlashan, who\u2019s also the New Zealand U19 girls\u2019 coach.<\/p>\n There was a 52% increase in young female programme registrations last summer, on the back of the White Ferns\u2019 stunning T20 World Cup victory in October 2024.<\/p>\n For the first time, NZ Cricket is running a girls\u2019 U17 national tournament this summer, where players will have their first exposure to the quality wickets at NZ Cricket\u2019s high-performance centre at Lincoln University.<\/p>\n Canterbury has around 160 females registered between 13 and 16 years, and a lot of talent among them, Satterthwaite says. \u201cIt makes me even more driven to make sure we\u2019ve the pathway to support them as they come through. It\u2019s exciting to think what we could have in three to five years\u2019 time.\u201d<\/p>\n There\u2019s now a New Zealand A women\u2019s squad, that toured England in June \u2013 an opportunity for domestic players knocking on the door of the White Ferns to experience touring at the top level. \u201cA lot of our domestic players still work fulltime so it\u2019s a drastic leap for them to be on the road for three weeks straight,\u201d McGlashan says.<\/p>\n Satterthwaite has been in her role for two seasons, and has seen the benefits and taken some personal reward. \u201cYou get feedback sometimes from parents thankful for the opportunities that players get. Or sometimes it\u2019s from watching players develop \u2013 those light bulb moments when they master something new or pick up a new skill,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n Growing up in the North Canterbury farming community of Culverden, she has treasured memories of her pathway through Canterbury Country age group teams. \u201cThat\u2019s something I hold special in my heart,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n Canterbury have now created another pathway with their Town vs Districts T20 competition for U16, U19 and senior women. \u201cIt provides camaraderie, leadership, a different level from club cricket, and something for players to aspire to,\u201d Satterthwaite says.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have academies providing more specialist skill support. The hard part is you can\u2019t provide that for everyone. But hopefully the programme will just keep growing.\u201d<\/p>\n Satterthwaite, who will coach the North team in next week\u2019s North vs South T20 series, is constantly thinking of how to help young women bridge the gap into domestic cricket.<\/p>\n \u201cIn the past, we\u2019ve had players come to play for Canterbury and they\u2019ve never been in a gym, had nutritional support, or mental skill support. It can be a bit overwhelming \u2013 so how do we provide that at a younger age?\u201d she says.<\/p>\nSatterthwaite is one of four former New Zealand cricketers tasked with identifying, developing and sustaining the next generation of female talent. Photo \/ George Heard<\/p>\n
Satterthwaite has been in her role for two seasons. Photo \/ Andrew Cornaga, www.photosport.nz<\/p>\n