Cricketer upbeat on return

The effects of jetlag gave Nyxons and Central Hinds cricketer Claudia Green every chance to appreciate her peers’ remarkable performances at the T20 World Cup in Dubai.

After spending the off-season playing and coaching in Ireland, Claudia was still adjusting to the local Nelson time zone so kept waking up to catch the White Ferns’ early morning matches. And winning the final made the 26-year-old swing bowler even more determined to play her way back into that international environment.

“It was awesome to see the girls doing so well.  Coming off a few losses to then come together with that belief as a team was awesome and showed what they can do when they play their best cricket,” says Claudia, who has twice been in the White Ferns squads but is yet to make her debut.  She hopes that same self-belief in her own ability will eventually pay.

“I am still working towards that.  Contributing for teams I play for, being the best cricketer I can be, and if I get selected for higher honours it is a bonus,” declares Claudia. Part of that journey was testing herself in different conditions with the Balbriggan Cricket Club about 30 minutes from Dublin.

“It is a new club going through a very young development phase.  It was a tight-knit community, really family-based, so it was cool to be a part of it.” She felt like a veteran being up to 10 years older than most of the players, except for her Nelson teammate Anna Gaging who had also travelled to Ireland. It was a good time to be there as the Irish women’s team beat England in T20 and ODI matches.

“Their top batters challenged me in club cricket, putting me under pressure, so hopefully I gained a lot of skills that I can now use back here this season.”

Entrusted with opening the bowling, she regards her in swinging deliveries as a real weapon.  “You can always be attacking the batters when the ball is swinging.”

She’s more confident these days about returning to bowl in the middle stages of matches or at the death. It’s a niche role with current White Ferns bowler Jess Kerr her main rival. “It is tough competition but there’s a lot I can learn from her game,” says Claudia, who prefers 50 over-a-side matches to the more hectic pace of T20.

“ODI’s give you more time to settle in to a bit of a rhythm whereas T20 can be a bit rough on bowlers.” Returning to her teaching role at St Paul’s Catholic School in Richmond, the school holidays work in well with the busy T20 Super Smash season and she can’t wait for the Central Hinds to get another go at last season’s winner Wellington.

The match came down to the final over in Auckland with Claudia coming in for the final ball with three runs needed to win She wasn’t facing but was run out as they went down by one run.

“I love batting.  I am aggressive and won’t die wondering,”

So the Wellington Blaze better be on guard when the sides clash at Saxton Oval in January.