The 2022-23 season of cricket has come to an end and what a refreshing summer it has been. After three years of the global pandemic providing extra-ordinary challenges for our members and stakeholders, we managed to enjoy a relatively interruption free summer of cricket bar the terrible weather events such as the floods and Cyclone Gabrielle.
The Blackcaps have just completed their second tour of Pakistan in 3 months with the T20 series drawn and the one-day international series won by the Pakistan side. The squad will get a chance to return to New Zealand shores for a short period before heading to the United Arab Emirates in August for 3 T20 matches and then onto to England for a four match T20 series and four one day internationals.
Closer to home we saw the return of the women’s North v South T20 series at Bert Sutcliffe Oval in Lincoln with the North Island side taking this year’s honours. More than a decade since the competition was last delivered, the series was reintroduced to provide greater playing opportunities for promising female players and will be delivered annually in line with the commitment made in last year’s Master Agreement.
In this edition of Outright we catch up with Saachi Shahri who is an Engineer Planning Analyst with Air New Zealand when she’s not opening the batting for the Auckland Hearts. We speak with Todd Astle who is amongst 6 players who retired at the end of the summer. Todd is now turning his attention to Innerspin a company he founded in 2016 to provide mental skills coaching, mentoring and positive psychology, working with athletes and teams across a wide array of sports.
The New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) has provided a pathway for many young kiwis, and this too is the case for former Otago Volts wicket keeper and batter Derek de Boorder who shares his story on becoming a Specialist Recruiter for the NZDF. We feature our Hooked On Cricket programme which celebrated it’s 18th year thanks to the support of the Queen Street Cricket Club, as well as the NZCPA Player Conference which took place last month in Auckland.
The Cricketers’ Trust recently supported some past players who were adversely affected by the floods and Cyclone Gabrielle and we reflect on Seddon Cricket Club’s inaugural alumni weekend which culminated in a thrilling match as Northern Districts Past Players XI faced an NZCPA XI at Seddon Park.
Click here or on the image of the cover above for a read or head to our publications section, we hope you enjoy this edition of Outright.
Nga mihi nui
NZCPA