Whanganui export Charlotte Stent beats incredibly painful surgery and rehab to rejoin CD

Left arm bowler Charlotte Stent in action as the sole Whanganui player in the Horowhenua Kapiti combined team in last season's Cricket Express Under-18 tournament on Victoria Park. Photo / Lewis Gardner

Whanganui export Charlotte Stent's comeback is complete with selection to the Central Districts Under 19's squad for nationals.

Left hand quick bowler Stent has rejoined the Central Districts fold with her inclusion in the Under 19 squad to play the NZC National tournament in Lincoln next month.

The talented Whanganui allrounder is currently affiliated to Taranaki, as she is based at New Plymouth Girls' High, representing the 1st XI and the representative Under 18s.

Her return to Central Districts level after being a star in the Under 15s is all the more impressive considering that at the start of last season, Stent could barely walk as she dealt with an incredibly painful surgery and rehabilitation on her calves and shins.

A cricketing prodigy, joining the Central Districts U15s when she was just 11-12, Stent played for the Cricket Wanganui boys representative teams as well as the Senior Women in 2019-20 - the same season she was a key player in CD U15 sweeping the annual Festival of Cricket tournament in Whanganui.

Having been trained locally by Steve Meredith and then Dilan Raj, Stent transferred up to NPGHS to seek more opportunities in the women's game.

However, coming into the 2020-21 summer, Stent's father Gary said his daughter went through a growth spurt, which when coupled with hard training on her developing body, saw too much growth in her calf muscles.

It was compartment syndrome – creating a painful pressure that restricts blood flow while limiting the amount of fascia in the calves – the thin casing of connective tissue that surrounds and holds organs, blood vessels, bone, nerve fibre and muscles in place.

"It looks like spider web in your body," said Gary Stent, a nurse by profession.

When the fascia dries up and tightens around muscles, it limits mobility and causes painful knots, while Stent also developed shin splints – literally in agony as she tried to play through the pain.

"Her injury got worse and she didn't play a lot after that. By January it was impossible to get through games."

A specialist who tested Stent's calves found they would swell from 33cm to 38cm after one bike ride.

Her father said only 30 per cent of athletes who require surgery for this issue get back to the same level as before.

Stent went under the knife in February to fix both calves, at the same time having her shin bones scrapped clear of the splints.

After a long rehabilitation, Stent carefully returned to the field this summer, wearing special sleeves on her legs while finishing games with ice and salt baths.

She increased her low-impact training, doing more swimming, cycling and physiotherapy, rather than jogging.

It worked as Stent returned to both the Taranaki Under 18s and Senior Women's sides, while attending specialist camps for the CD Under 19 group.

She really impressed in the second annual Central Super League, held at Levin's Donnelly Park last month.

The tournament featured four teams, which mixes up established CD Hinds players with up-and-coming cricketers.

Stent was one of the youngest attendees, playing for the Levin Coastal Challengers under White Fern Hannah Rowe, and bowled very well – tying down the likes of another White Fern in Lauren Down.

Having worked in a sports shop in New Plymouth at the end of the school year, Stent will be home for Christmas before heading off with her CD U19 teammates for the January 6-12 NZC National tournament in Canterbury.

"She's absolutely stoked," said Gary Stent.

"She's still a Whanganui girl – her parents live here, and she comes back in the holidays."

The Central Districts Under 19 Women's squad is:

Ocean Bartlett (Wairarapa), Ashtuti Kumar (Manawatū), Jessie Hollard (Taranaki), Emma McLeod (Wairarapa),Olivia Clark (Wairarapa), Flora Devonshire (Hawke's Bay), Aniela Apperley (Hawke's Bay), Grace Foreman (Taranaki), Charlotte Stent (Taranaki), Macy Lyford (Wairarapa), Elizabeth Cohr (Wairarapa), Sam Mackinder (Manawatū), Abby Treder (Manawatū).

Coach: Dan Harper; Manager/Assistant Coach: Kerry Tomlinson.