White Fern Hannah Rowe's move to Hawke's Bay is a show of faith in the region's cricket facilities. Photo / Paul Taylor
White Fern Hannah Rowe's move to Hawke's Bay is a show of faith in the region's cricket facilities. Photo / Paul Taylor
White Fern Hannah Rowe wanted to put herself in the best place to develop her cricketing game, so she made the move from Palmerston North to Hawke’s Bay.
“It’s my first time moving out of Palmy properly and I’m really enjoying it at the moment,” she told Hawke’s Bay Today.It’s something of a coup for cricket in Hawke’s Bay and a portent of what could be to come as a result of new facilities at Mitre 10 Park in Hastings.
Rowe, 26, made her White Ferns debut as an 18-year-old and has been a vital member of the Central Hinds team for many years, since her debut in the 2011-12 season.
Being contracted to New Zealand Cricket means she has the freedom to concentrate on cricket all year round and that has prompted the move north.
“I think just the facilities they’ve now got in Hawke’s Bay that CD Cricket have, it just got to the point where I was a full-time athlete now, I decided that I want to put myself in the best place to get better,” she said.
White Fern Hannah Rowe is basing herself at Mitre 10 Park in Hastings. Photo / Paul Taylor
“Playing for the Hinds is one of my big priorities as well, so rather than move to a big hub like Auckland or Christchurch, I wanted to stay in the CD region and this seems to be where CD are putting all their resources.”
Mitre 10 Park is now the focus for her training and, when the new outdoor cricket marquee next to the canoe polo centre is complete, that will be invaluable for her and the other Central Districts players based in the Bay.
“When the new grass marquee is up and running as well, it’s going to be really important for us leading into the Hinds season and also the White Ferns too if we can get on grass in there.
“Obviously, any chance you get to train on grass is really awesome, so being able to do that here and still get outside when it gets closer to summer will be great,” she says.
“Also, having access to the pool; that facility is pretty insane and even just being able to train in the high-performance gym. I think the staff at the sports park are probably seeing enough of us.”
Since her move a few weeks ago, Rowe has noticed what a hive of activity the sports park is.
“One of the things that I’ve found cool is seeing people of all different ages as well and there’s all sorts of different sports that go on and groups that come through, so yeah, the facility is pretty awesome.”
The last White Ferns fixtures were at the T20 World Cup in South Africa in February and that has meant a bit of a break after a busy couple of years. Next up for Rowe, pending selection, will be a tour to Sri Lanka at the end of June for three ODIs and three T20 internationals in a country she has never toured.
“It’s been nice to have a training block where we can really hone in on skills and stuff like that. We’ve been on a lot of tours back-to-back over the last couple of years. [Sri Lanka is] an exciting tour.”
