The Warm Sun on My Face

The Story of Women’s Cricket in New Zealand

Book Review

It’s the size of a telephone book and the story of its production is a tale in its own right, but one must expect this to be the case for such an enormous undertaking to tackle the resplendent history of women’s cricket in New Zealand.

The Warm Sun on My Face traces the history of the game from the nineteenth century hit and giggle matches to the era of professionalism we see today with the team best known to cricket lovers as the White Ferns. The massive tome is full of amazing photographs, revealing interviews and wonderful anecdotes. As you read through book you get the understanding as to why it needed to be so large and you also see the passion in the project.

The path to production has been over two decades. There are two authors listed. Adrienne Simpson began the gargantuan task last century, a keen lover of both cricket and music and wrote about both. She was putting the story together but sadly passed away in 2010. This history could have been lost! Fortunately her family donated her notes to the NZ Cricket Museum and the second part of the book’s journey too place.

Trevor Auger, a keen cricket enthusiast, involved with the game since the 1970s took up the slack and continued with the project. But he had some helpers. Former chair of Cricket Wellington, Sally Morrison; many of the former players – among them Trish McKelvey, Penny Kinsella – just to name a couple, were in this up to their armpits.

That the former players were involved speaks volumes about both women’s cricket and New Zealand. Everyone pitches in. It’s just the way it is and just the way it always has been. No book on this subject could be done any other way.

So what’s in it? It’s a linear history of women’s cricket in New Zealand. Like most cricketing nations the game has been played long before the kids of today realise. In a nation that was the first to give women the vote, it stands to reason that the same demographic were playing cricket long before modern times. The book states the earliest known record of women playing the game in New Zealand is 1867, but surely it was being played even before then. The book gives a great deal of detail about these early years and surprisingly haunting photos to accompany the tales.

We follow the emergence of clubs and local competitions. Then the big one. The English are coming! Great coverage is given to what was the first Test between New Zealand and England, the first international women’s cricket match on New Zealand shores. Great detail is given about the players, for these were not just entries on a score sheet, statistics, but real people.

The locals, captained by Christchurch girl Ruth Symons were belted to kingdom come, but these brave pioneers left a legacy for the White Ferns.

White Ferns. Ahem. This team was originally the Silver Ferns, named after the local floral emblem, synonymous with New Zealand. However, those netball folk commandeered the name and the cricketers need to find another. Cricket was all about whites, so they became the White Ferns.

We follow on the journey through World War Two and the first Test against the Australians in 1947/48 and again against England in 1948/49. But then the big one. A full three Test tour to England in 1954 under Rona McKenzie.

Another three Test tour to England in 1966 under new skipper Trish McKelvey. England would book full a Test series, but not Australia. In 1971/72 Trish led a team to Australia but were incensed that they were only booked for one match. McKelvey and her team did what needed to be done: they won the match and Trish became the first skipper to win a Test match. She would lead the team in 15 Test matches.

In 1973, New Zealand was a major team in the inaugural World Cup of cricket and has played in every tournament since. Runners up a few times but some healthy coverage in the book about the victory in 2000 over Australia with Emily Drumm holding the cup aloft for the White Ferns first title.

Likewise, the White Ferns have carved a history in the T20 format and it is no surprise that the popular leggie, Amelia Kerr adorns the cover of the book. She is the future of the White Ferns and stands on the very shoulders of her predecessors.

This book is a constant companion on my desk, which is the best place to read it. This is not a book for bath or beach. It is literally too heavy to handle. Anything less weighty would have done a disservice to the history, but of course, with all those former players being involved in the production, it was never going to be less than perfect.

I have read many cricket books in my time, both of the men’s and the women’s game and indeed have a very healthy collection. This is one of the greatest. It’s also one of my fondest.

Purchasing options:

• Australia and New Zealand: the Nile
• Other locations: Ebay, Book Depository