Kate Chandler is used to playing cricket with the boys, but the Wellington teen has the chance to shine amongst the best young women cricketers in the world at the inaugural U19 T20 World Cup next month, Merryn Anderson writes.
Wellington Girls' College student Kate Chandler had one of the best weeks of her life earlier this month, when she won the national U19 women’s cricket tournament.
But with the 16-year-old selected in the New Zealand team to contest the inaugural U19 Women’s T20 World Cup in South Africa next month, that favourite moment could soon be overtaken.
Chandler is one of the youngest players in the New Zealand side, but age has never daunted her. She made her debut for the Wellington Blaze just weeks after turning 14, and impressed early, taking five wickets in a Hallyburton Johnstone Shield game against the Canterbury Magicians - only her fourth game.
Two of her five wickets were White Ferns (she caught out a third), and the Blaze went on to win by eight wickets, with 107 balls to spare.
“That was awesome, it was a bit surreal looking back at it. It was one of those days where everything just goes to plan,” Chandler remembers.
“And when you’re in an environment like the Blaze, you’ve got the best fielders, the best keeper, the best catchers; the best of everything. It’s an easy environment to do well in.”
This season, the Blaze have six contracted White Ferns players, which gives room for players like Chandler to have more game time when the Ferns leave for their T20 World Cup, also in South Africa, in February.
Being in the same environment with the likes of Sophie Devine and Melie Kerr has been amazing for the young leg spinner.
“They’re some of the best players in the world, so it’s really cool to have them in the same team - just watching how they go about their business,” she says.
Chandler took nine wickets for Wellington in the U19 national tournament at Lincoln earlier this month, but it was her batting that impressed most.
She finished with an average of 63.75, with a highest score of 67 not out. Across the tournament, she scored 255 runs, the third-highest total.
“I’ve definitely worked a lot on my batting the last couple of seasons trying not slip into just becoming a bowler, to really become an all-rounder,” Chandler says.
She was one of the top run-scorers in her first HBJ match for the Blaze this season, scoring 29 runs at number seven in a comprehensive win over the Magicians.
Chandler continued that trend in her second game yesterday, scoring 32 not out, and sharing a 61-run partnership with Thamsyn Newton, as the Blaze defeated the Sparks.
After feeling little pressure in her first season with the Blaze - “If I didn’t get any wickets, then oh well; and if I did, that’s an added bonus” - Chandler says now she feels a bit more responsibility to perform with the ball.
“A lot of the time, it’s just what you put on yourself to get out there and take wickets cause that’s the role you’ve got," she says.
“I actually do get a bit excited, sometimes I get caught up a little bit but I try to stay calm and stay in the moment.”
Chandler started playing cricket around the age of five at her local club; her three older brothers all cricketers also.
“It was either play cricket or watch them play cricket,” Chandler laughs.
Playing in all boys teams until the end of last year, Chandler played for Wellington College for a few years, and had no problem being the only girl in a team.
“It was just normal, cause they were just my mates,” she says.
She also plays hockey in winter, playing for as long as she has been with cricket. “I really love hockey, especially in the wintertime, to take a break from cricket and get stuck in to something else,” Chandler says.
Is there ever too much on her plate? Definitely not, she says.
“Playing sport’s not something that’s a chore - it’s a lot of fun every time I go out and play hockey or cricket or any social sport.”
Chandler has just finished Year 11 at Wellington Girls’ College, and admits she’s unsure what she wants to do after high school, but says it’s exciting to know cricket could be a career for her.
“Especially with all the stuff that’s happening with women’s cricket at the moment, it’s pretty cool for that to be an actual career path,” she says.
Chandler is a gifted hockey player as well, playing for her school's first XI
Chandler was at cricket practice with her school when she got the call saying she had made the U19 team for the World Cup.
“I was pretty stoked, it was a bit of a surprise. I wasn’t 100 percent thinking I was going to be in the frame for it so it was pretty cool to get the call,” she says.
There are four Wellington players in the squad, coached by former White Fern Sara McGlashan.
“It’s cool to see quite a few girls from Wellington getting in. I’ve been playing with some of them for quite a while now so it’ll be nice to have them alongside me,” Chandler says.
New Zealand play Indonesia, Ireland and the West Indies in pool play, with their first match on January 16 (NZT).
Three players in the team have White Ferns experience - Fran Jonas (22 caps), Izzy Gaze (13) and Georgia Plimmer (13) were all part of the bronze medal-winning Commonwealth Games team, and the recent West Indies tour in Antigua.
Jonas and Plimmer also played in the World Cup in New Zealand in March, while Gaze was part of the development team who toured India last month.
That makes the New Zealand team one of the strongest in terms of international experience, something Chandler says will be very helpful.
“Not many girls have gone and played cricket overseas, or had the pressure of playing in a World Cup so it’ll be good to have those three there," she says.
“There are lots of different countries going, so it’ll be awesome.”
