But Walmsley now inhabits his gentler side, away from the sporting arena \u2013 as a newly qualified counsellor.<\/p>\n
Aged 52, Walmsley recently graduated from Manukau Institute of Technology (MIT) with a Bachelor of Applied Counselling.<\/p>\n
MIT and Unitec Chief Executive Prof Christina Hong and Kerry Walmsley (right) at his Bachelor of Applied Counselling graduation on Friday.<\/p>\n
He has launched a new business too \u2013 Kerry Walmsley Counselling \u2013 offering talk therapy for anxiety, grief and loss, separation, addiction, depression and other human struggles.<\/p>\n
Injuries and the vagaries of selection limited Kerry Walmsley’s time with the Black Caps. Photo \/ Greg Bowker<\/p>\n
His new career builds on the years he\u2019s spent mentoring those in high-performance sporting environments \u2013 including his elite athlete daughter Amelia Walmsley, who currently plays for the Silver Ferns and Stars netball teams.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s work that also draws on the tough times he\u2019s lived through personally, like his separation after 25 years of marriage, and some of the pain related to his top-level sporting career<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cI have a recurring nightmare … I\u2019ve been picked for New Zealand again and I never ever get back on the park,\u201d he told the Herald.<\/p>\n \u201cI miss the van, or I get to the ground and [it\u2019s] literally like a doorless and windowless wall.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve had it for probably 15 years … it\u2019s horrible and I wake up sweating bullets.<\/p>\n \u201cEven when I do get in, I\u2019ve gone to the wrong ground, or I continually miss the bus, or get on the bus and my bag is not packed, or I\u2019ve forgotten my trousers.<\/p>\n \u201cI think it talks to the fact I feel like I didn\u2019t fulfil my potential and I\u2019ve only really got myself to hold to account to that. It is that sort of hollow feeling.\u201d<\/p>\n Cricket also gave Walmsley a lot. Travels with the Black Caps<\/a> took him to Sri Lanka and Pakistan. <\/p>\n And he met his now ex-wife Lesley \u2013 the mother of their three children \u2013 on a cricket tour of Australia.<\/p>\n \u2018It feels like where I belong\u2019<\/p>\n Walmsley made his last appearance for New Zealand in a one-day international against Pakistan in Faisalabad in December 2003.<\/p>\n The trained primary school teacher took on some short-term teaching, then a six-year stint handling operations and events at the New Zealand Cricket Players\u2019 Association.<\/p>\n He was also involved in the association\u2019s career and personal development programme for cricketers.<\/p>\n For a period, Walmsley juggled being a stay-at-home dad, worked on his properties, and took part-time work with fellow ex-Black Cap Dion Nash\u2019s men\u2019s skincare company Triumph & Disaster.<\/p>\n \u201cI took some time to kind of reflect on what I had done, and what I really enjoyed, and that was … guidance and mentoring. I love hearing people\u2019s stories and perspectives,\u201d Walmsley said. <\/p>\n So in 2022, aged 49, he began three years of study towards a Bachelor in Applied Counselling at MIT.<\/p>\n \u201cI didn\u2019t want to settle for a job I wasn\u2019t passionate about,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n When asked how some of his ex-teammates had reacted to his career switch, Walmsley joked: \u201cHalf of the old cricket guys are now my clients.<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019ve been super supportive. I think they saw that I was always trying to contribute towards winning performances, was always very aware of supporting others …<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s probably been the odd one [surprised] knowing that early on [in my cricket career], I\u2019d fly off the handle a little bit.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2018As a sportsperson … it\u2019s easy to play the victim card\u2019<\/p>\n Sporting excellence runs in the Walmsley family.<\/p>\n His daughter Amelia has represented the Silver Ferns<\/a> since 2023; 20 years on from her dad\u2019s final appearance for the Black Caps.<\/p>\n The elite 22-year-old shooter was also the captain of the New Zealand side that came second in last year\u2019s Under-21 World Cup in Gibraltar.<\/p>\n Amelia has previously spoken of how her dad had offered her emotional support during some of the most trying times of her fledgling career; including when she was battling potentially serious knee and shoulder injuries.<\/p>\n Last year she told Woman\u2019s Day how her dad had been a \u201cmassive influence on my life and super-supportive since I was really young\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s one of those dads who wants his kids to be happy and does whatever he can to make that happen.\u201d<\/p>\n The former cricket international said just like him, Amelia was \u201csuper competitive\u201d.<\/p>\n Walmsley said when asked for advice by Amelia, it was mainly around offering perspective, reminding her to be present, \u201cand the last thing I always say to her is enjoy because it does go quick\u201d.<\/p>\n His advice to his daughter was to spend time on things that brought her joy.<\/p>\n \u201cIt doesn\u2019t have to be a whole day off, it could just be an hour,\u201d Walmsley said.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is just working out what fills her cup, whether it is popping off to a waterfall or a bush walk with a friend … it helps you stay present.\u201d<\/p>\n Walmsley has reflected on aspects of his cricket journey and now believes he was sucked into a \u201cbubble\u201d and lost perspective at times.<\/p>\n He said his studies have grown and extended him, and allowed him to \u201cget really honest\u201d with himself.<\/p>\n \u201cEveryone who does this degree has had to face their demons and not just you know, the story that we wake up and tell ourselves in our head … sometimes that story\u2019s maybe not quite the truth,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cAs a sports person at times, maybe it\u2019s easy to play the victim card a bit. With selections and things like that, not actually [being] properly honest.<\/p>\n \u201cMaybe you need to unhook from that sort of victim mentality … and focus on what you can control and get better and just be honest with yourself.\u201d<\/p>\n Separation sadness: Walmsley\u2019s regrets<\/p>\n Among the services Walmsley offers is relationship counselling, and work around relationship and marriage breakups.<\/p>\n Figures released by Stats NZ earlier this month show the divorce rate in 2025 eclipsed the marriage and civil union rates.<\/p>\n Last year, 7887 couples called it quits; a 5% increase from the 7497 recorded in 2024.<\/p>\n The pain of separation is something Walmsley has lived through; splitting with Lesley during the Covid-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n They had been a couple for 25 years after meeting on the dancefloor of an Australian nightclub during a 1996 cricket tour. \u201cReally romantic, hey,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n He said the end of their relationship six years ago was \u201creally hard\u201d and not something he had wanted.<\/p>\n Although time has healed some of those wounds, Walmsley says he still feels some regret and frustration.<\/p>\n \u201cWe were together for 25 years, it\u2019s a long time,\u201d he said. \u201cIt is what it is and I am happy now.\u201d <\/p>\n He has moved forward, just like he hopes to help his clients to do.<\/p>\n Walmsley met his current partner while studying at MIT \u2013 she too was studying for a Bachelor in Applied Counselling.<\/p>\n He referenced her during his valedictorian speech, telling his classmates: \u201cIt has been an honour walking alongside all of you. You\u2019ve challenged me, supported me, humbled me, and one of you in particular now sleeps next to me.\u201d<\/p>\n Walmsley enjoys his relationship-focused work. Every relationship and every breakup is different, he said, and has its own \u201cpressure points\u201d.<\/p>\n When separating couples have children, finding a way to be \u201camicable\u201d can be hugely beneficial, he said.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you are able to maintain a relationship to whatever level with the person you\u2019re separating with … having that very much as a focus … then the by-product is that your kids will be looked after,\u201d Walmsley said.<\/p>\n \u201cYou won\u2019t have those situations where dad\u2019s saying this about mum or mum\u2019s saying this about dad, because that relationship is nurtured.\u201d<\/p>\n The nature of some breakups meant that was \u201ca lot easier said than done.<\/p>\n \u201cSomeone\u2019s been hurt, someone\u2019s been told that they\u2019ve been left and someone\u2019s going to feel aggrieved,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Some jilted parties could also fall back into a \u201cvictim mentality\u201d.<\/p>\n Walmsley\u2019s new career sees him become part of a growth area in New Zealand society.<\/p>\n Ministry of Health research released last year showed 14% of adults visit a counsellor or psychologist each year.<\/p>\n Almost a quarter of young adults \u2013 aged between 15-25 \u2013 reported experiencing high or very high psychological distress; a figure that has almost tripled in 10 years.<\/p>\n Walmsley said he couldn\u2019t offer specific \u201cgold nuggets\u201d to those going through tough times \u2013 mental distress was \u201ca bit more complex than that\u201d.<\/p>\n But it can help if people will be brutally honest with themselves. \u201cWe can kind of get caught telling a story that may not exactly be the truth,\u201d Walmsley said.<\/p>\n We should take time to understand our own values and belief systems, even if it\u2019s challenging to do, he said.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are a lot of people going through pain and in challenging positions they are not in control of and haven\u2019t been for a long time \u2013 yet there is choice, as much as people can\u2019t see it,\u201d Walmsley said.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you have the ability to unhook from that kind of spiralling [that helps]. Because if we continue to tell ourselves the story that sometimes is actually not the truth, then that\u2019s what we continue to tell ourselves.\u201d<\/p>\nKerry Walmsley gave his all on the cricket pitch and at his prime he was one of the fastest bowlers in New Zealand.<\/p>\n
Kerry Walmsley – pictured soon after his retirement from playing – still endures vivid cricket-themed nightmares.<\/p>\n
Former Black Caps speedster Kerry Walmsley became a full-time student again, studying for three years at Manukau Institute of Technology and graduating on Friday. Photo \/ Brett Phibbs<\/p>\n
Former Black Caps fast bowler Kerry Walmsley is now a fully trained counsellor and has launched his own business, Kerry Walmsley Counselling.<\/p>\n
Kerry Walmsley cleans out the stumps of former Black Caps batsman Mathew Sinclair during a clash between Central Districts and Auckland. Photo \/ Kristy Ballard<\/p>\n
Former Black Caps fast bowler Kerry Walmsley with his daughter and Silver Ferns netball international Amelia.<\/p>\n
Kerry Walmsley officially graduated from Manuka Institute of Technology (MIT) with a Bachelor of Applied Counselling on Friday; also giving the valedictorian speech at the ceremony.<\/p>\n
Amelia Walmsley in action for the Silver Ferns during a tour of the UK late last year. Photo \/ Photosport<\/p>\n
Amelia Walmsley – rising high during a Silver Ferns training session – has had her ex-international cricketing father around for special advice when needed. Photo \/ Photosport<\/p>\n
A welcome message to potential clients on the website of Kerry Walmsley Counselling.<\/p>\n
Kerry Walmsley knows the pain involved in a marriage split – something he tries to help some clients through. Photo \/ 123rf<\/p>\n
Kerry Walmsley says his life both in and out of sport has been shaped by change and resilience.<\/p>\n
Former Black Caps speedster Kerry Walmsley (right) being capped MIT and Unitec Council Chair Alastair Bell.<\/p>\n