Northland Māori cricketer Chelsea Traill (left) has a bright future thanks in part to Trina Henare (back, left), Dean Robinson and Stephen Cunis. Photo / Tania Whyte
Northland Māori cricketer Chelsea Traill (left) has a bright future thanks in part to Trina Henare (back, left), Dean Robinson and Stephen Cunis. Photo / Tania Whyte
A historic cricket series set for Whangārei this month could signal Northland as the new home of Māori cricket in New Zealand.
For the first time, a New Zealand Māori under-19 men's team will play an indigenous Australian under-19 men's team in two 50-over games on Monday, March 23 andWednesday, March 25 at Cobham Oval.
Both teams will be welcomed on their arrival to Northland on the Sunday and in between games, the sides will visit Waitangi and local schools.
After the two Northland fixtures, the teams will travel to Auckland on Friday, March 27, when they will play a curtain-raiser game before the T20 fixture between New Zealand and Australia at Eden Park.
Northland Cricket Association general manager Stephen Cunis (left) and Sport Northland's Trina Henare have worked closely to promote Māori participation in cricket. Photo / Tania Whyte
While Northland hosting the inaugural series was a clear indication of the region's potential in Māori cricket, Whangārei was only selected after the Australian bushfires ruled out any chance of the series being played across the ditch.
"I'd love for Northland to become the home of Māori cricket," Northland Cricket Association (NCA) general manager Stephen Cunis said.
According to New Zealand Cricket network and participation advisor Andrew Tara, Māori make up five per cent of just over 50,000 registered cricket players in New Zealand. In the Black Caps, the only Māori player is bowler Trent Boult.
In 2019, Northland senior men's cricket team member Oliver White captained the inaugural Māori secondary schoolboys team, while Whangārei Girls' High School's Chelsea Traill, 14, recently featured in the inaugural Māori secondary schoolgirls team in Wellington.
Whangārei Girls' High School's Chelsea Traill, 14, was selected to play in the inaugural Māori secondary schoolgirls cricket team which played in Wellington last month. Photo / Supplied
Northland had also been at the forefront of Māori cricket education through Kea Perene, who was the first person to teach the sport through te reo to kura in the Far North.
Cunis said cricket development in the Far North had waned slightly after previous years when social competitions were run by former NCA employee Peter Barnett.
However, with a successful social competition held in Kaikohe over the summer, Cunis said it was the perfect time to feature the country's best Māori cricketers in Northland.
"What we really want from this is our young Māori kids in various communities around Northland to form a connection, so we can get more playing cricket throughout Northland," he said.
"We don't want to have a couple of games a season and that's it, we want to try and utilise what we have with these two games to really grow Māori cricket at the grassroots level."
Cunis admitted while engagement with Māori in cricket hadn't been great in the past, he was proud to see a number of people invested in seeing the game grow in Northland's Māori communities.
As one of Northland's leading Māori cricketers, Traill (Ngāpuhi) said it was great to see the NCA's commitment to promoting cricket with Māori.
"It would be really cool to see more Māori playing cricket," she said.
Chelsea Traill. Photo / Tania Whyte
Traill, also a Northern Districts age-group player, said it was important to show the next generation of Māori cricketers they could achieve highly.
"Sport isn't about where you come from, it's how you get there.
"As long as you set your mind to what you want to achieve, then you can get anywhere with any background."
Sport Northland 'Moving the Māori Nation' kaiwhakahaere (organiser) Trina Henare supported the plan to make Northland the home of Māori cricket, but warned the sport's barriers to Māori should be removed to enhance engagement.
"The main barrier I think is the perception that cricket is white and it's for white people,' she said.
"All the other things that come with the game might be out of their comfort zone, wearing all the white and finding the money for bats and gear."
NZ Māori School's captain Ollie White celebrates 100 runs during the NZ Māori Schools vs Governor Generals XI cricket match in Wellington in March last year. Photo / Photosport
In a NCA meeting in December, headed by Henare, the association's commitment to enhancing the sport's cultural diversity in their 2018-2022 strategic plan was ratified.
Former NCA board member Dean Robinson said Northland's high Māori population meant promoting the game to Māori communities was essential.
"It's a no-brainer and it's why it's in the strategic plan," he said.
"If [the NCA] can create a genuine partnership with Māori in Northland, then we can develop a tikanga-based approach to using to cricket as a way to help people in Northland."
Perene, who taught cricket through te reo to about a dozen schools from Kawakawa to Te Hapua, agreed in how the game should be taught with respect to tikanga (custom).
