Sadie and Cohen Stewart from Rotorua are representing Northern Māori in the Wāhine and Tāne Māori National Tournaments this week. Photo / Supplied
Sadie and Cohen Stewart from Rotorua are representing Northern Māori in the Wāhine and Tāne Māori National Tournaments this week. Photo / Supplied
Backyard cricket in the Stewart household has paid off for Rotorua siblings Sadie and Cohen Stewart who have slipped on the Nothern Māori uniforms at the Wāhine and Tāne Māori Nationals in Auckland this week.
And even dad, Crispian, has earned himself spots on the sides as manager.
While playing representative cricket is always a goal, Crispian Stewart said the best part of the national tournament was seeing Sadie, 17, and Cohen, 20, connecting to their culture, particularly on Waitangi Day.
He said Māori cricketers hadn’t historically frequented the pitches in New Zealand unlike in sports such as rugby and netball, but that was slowly changing. He said New Zealand Cricket was taking on initiatives such as this week’s tournaments and also using more te reo in its communications.
He said having tournaments like the Māori nationals was a great way to keep Māori playing sport as long as possible.
“Whether you give it away in your 20s or make top teams, it just has such a positive influence in people’s lives and means they aren’t mucking around, going to town or hanging out drinking. Plus when they’re here, they have so much fun. It just feels good.”
Crispian Stewart. Photo / Supplied
Crispian Stewart, whose wife Leanne has the Māori genealogy, said their family didn’t grow up particularly entrenched in Māori culture so having tournaments such as these was a great opportunity for him and his children to learn and grow.
“A lot of people could be better connected to their culture and sport is a good vehicle to do that. This week all the teams are staying together on marae, they had a pōwhiri welcome and on Waitangi Day they are only playing one game and spending the afternoon and evening doing activities.”
The wāhine and tāne tournaments started on Tuesday and finish on Friday at Lloyd Elsmore Park in Tāmaki Makaurau, Auckland.
Teams in the tāne tournament include Tāmaki Makaurau Tāne, Northern Māori Tāne, Central Districts Māori Tāne, Te Whanganui-a-Tara Māori Tāne and Te Waipounamu Tāne. Teams in the wāhine tournament include Tāmaki Makaurau/Te Waipounamu Wāhine Māori, Northern Māori Wāhine, Central Districts Wāhine Māori and Te Whanganui-a-Tara Wāhine Māori.
New Zealand Cricket said in a statement the teams featured a host of New Zealand cricket stars. The wāhine teams include seven contracted domestic players – including Georgia Atkinson, Ocean Bartlett and Kerry Tomlinson (Central Districts), Marama Downes (Northern Districts), as well as Super Smash champions, Caitlin King, Sam Mackinder and Jess McFadyen (Wellington).
The tāne teams were littered with Hawke Cup representatives, alongside several former Aotearoa Māori Schoolboy cricketers including Jay Benefield, Ryan Metcalfe, Johnathan Gray, Arana Cronin-Stone, Adam Wood, and Pōtiki Hamilton-Morrison.
The tāne tournament will involve five teams playing each other once in a round-robin format, with Te Waipounamu Tāne the sole representative from the South Island.
The wāhine tournament will host four teams with Tāmaki Makaurau and Te Waipounamu Wāhine Māori joining allegiances.
Kelly Makiha is a senior journalist who has reported for the Rotorua Daily Post for more than 25 years, covering mainly police, court, human interest and social issues.
