One of the greatest Kiwi cricketers of all time has bowed out without fanfare, but with fury from White Ferns fans. Magicians teammate and LockerRoom columnist Kristy Havill writes what must be learned from the poor treatment marking the end of Amy Satterthwaite's career.
Waking up on Thursday morning in London, I had no inkling of the firestorm that had been ignited back home in New Zealand.
Having a quick scroll of the news and social media before rolling out of bed for work, the last thing I expected to read was that Amy Satterthwaite hadn’t been offered a New Zealand Cricket contract for 2022/23 - and her subsequent retirement.
It felt like a sick joke. Was I dreaming?
No, the world had indeed been tilted more on its axis, and one of the greatest New Zealand cricket players of all time had been shown the door - pushed through it, and the key thrown away after the door had been slammed shut and locked behind her.
Listening to the audio of her press conference on my walk to the train station, my heart broke more the longer it went on.
Gracious, humble and poised – it was Branchy to a tee. It didn’t matter that her world had been shattered, she did what she always does.
She fronted up.
What these female cricketers are asking for is to be treated with the same level of respect and care their male counterparts receive. If anything, we need even more of it because we stand to lose a lot more.
It seemed only fair to also listen to what Bryan Stronach, NZ Cricket’s high performance manager, had to say.
Hearing him wax lyrical about investing in the future, with a lot of talent and depth coming through, I couldn’t help but think there was a way to do that without shafting a player who’s still one of the best batters in the side and someone with immeasurable value off the field.
Sadness quickly turned to anger, and the walk to the train station went by a lot faster than usual.
And I wasn’t alone. The outpouring of emotions from the sporting community all around the world told the story.
There was confusion and shock from all quarters. But the most telling reactions showing this decision badly missed the mark? From Satterthwaite’s teammates.
In a world where professional athletes are often cautioned about what they post on social media, particularly when it comes to matters relating to their team or employer, Amelia Kerr summed it up best:
This is not how Satterthwaite’s career should have ended.
Amy Satterthwaite has been a mentor and role model to Amelia Kerr in her White Ferns career.
Her playing record speaks for itself. She finishes with a one day international batting average of 38.33, which climbed to an astonishing 61 from the start of 2016 to the start of 2019 when she went on parental leave.
On her way to seven one day international centuries, who could forget that run of four in a row – a feat matched only by Sri Lanka’s Kumar Sangakkara?
At the T20 World Cup in 2016, she had the highest batting average at the tournament, before becoming one of the most highly sought-after signatures in T20 competitions around the world.
Lancashire Thunder in the Kia Super League, and Hobart Hurricanes and Melbourne Renegades in the Women’s Big Bash League have all benefited from Satterthwaite’s prowess with the bat.
She’s also set to add to that list when she dons a different black shirt for the Manchester Originals in the second edition of The Hundred in England later this year.
Quite frankly, anyone who thinks she didn’t have anything left to offer to the White Ferns is out of their mind.
If you think Satterthwaite doesn’t have the power or the ability to score runs in T20 cricket, you haven’t been paying attention.
With the Commonwealth Games and the T20 World Cup on the horizon, there’s no one else the White Ferns would rather have playing the anchor role.
But it’s not just what she brings on the field (and we didn’t even get to her fielding, tactical awareness, and her tag as the Golden Arm with the ball).
The amount of times Satterthwaite has been called upon to step up and fill different voids cannot be forgotten.
Who took the reins following Suzie Bates’ resignation from the captaincy, two months out from a T20 World Cup? Amy did.
Who became vice-captain to Sophie Devine after returning from parental leave (and a glass ceiling-shattering parental leave at that)? Amy did.
Who stepped in as captain when Devine took a break from cricket midway through a tour by Australia? Amy did.
Who was ready to step into the breach as captain in the event of Devine going down with injury at any stage throughout the World Cup? Amy.
Her knowledge, tactical nous and cricket awareness is up there with the best in the world.
And it’s her ability to relate to teammates on an individual level to understand what they’re trying to improve on, and tailoring her advice and approach accordingly to assist them.
The depth and talent coming through would have benefited immensely from Satterthwaite’s presence at two pinnacle events over the next 12 months.
Imagine Georgia Plimmer striding out to the middle at Edgbaston in the Commonwealth Games on her White Ferns debut, with likely a few butterflies, and she looked down the other end to see Branchy there? She’d immediately feel a lot better.
Likewise, Nensi Patel and Eden Carson, fellow off-spin bowlers, navigating how to bowl on South African decks at the T20 World Cup next year.
There are ways and means around bringing new players in to begin what will no doubt be promising international careers, while also retaining the core of the team.
How on earth has such an injustice happened?
How in the world did we have months of a Ross Taylor swansong international summer (and rightly so, the man’s a legend) - and yet the same liberty couldn’t be afforded to a female equivalent.
And no, I’m not saying that every sporting career needs to have a fairytale ending.
All of the White Ferns - and all professional sportspeople, really - know that fairytales are few and far between. It’s not what they play for, and dedicate years and years of their life to, thinking about the end.
There would have been no harm in NZ Cricket CEO David White and Stronach sitting down with Satterthwaite and asking what her plans were in regards to a timeline to her retirement.
If NZ Cricket truly valued its female players, they would take the time to understand their intentions and treat them the way they deserve to be treated.
As human beings. Not disposable pieces of equipment that get tossed to the side without a second thought.
And unfortunately, Satterthwaite is the latest in a long line of White Ferns to have been treated in this manner.
Looking back over the last decade, the list of players who still had so much to offer to the White Ferns goes on and on.
But how are we going to inspire future White Ferns after they see how Satterthwaite has been treated?
When is it going to end? How does this keep happening?
Since 2011 the White Ferns have had six different head coaches.
Six different individuals who had their own ideas of what basis players should be selected on. And many different iterations of assistant coaches and team management make-up.
The constantly changing goalposts for selection would make anybody’s head spin, most certainly the players.
Need to be fitter, need to score more runs, need to have a face that fits the image, need to take more wickets, need to dominate at the domestic level.
If the criteria keeps changing, how can players be expected to perform consistently?
There were several changes to last year’s contract list, with a view to focusing on the World Cup at home. This time, it’s been overhauled to concentrate on the T20 format.
Having such a short-sighted approach is a dangerous game to play. Especially as the women's international game moves towards multi-format series that include test cricket.
Instead of keeping things simple for players in regards to selection criteria and expectations, the waters just keep getting muddier. It toys with their emotions, and confuses their thinking which comes at a detriment to their on-field performances.
The fact that these contract decisions have been made before a review of the latest World Cup campaign has been completed is a bit of a shambles.
And the incoming new head coach has been left with an even taller order of moulding a team into a winning machine, by not having any say in who was contracted.
It keeps being reiterated Lea Tahuhu (Satterthwaite’s wife), Leigh Kasperek, Frankie Mackay and Thamsyn Newton can still be selected for the White Ferns despite no longer holding contracts.
Amy Satterthwaite (left) with wife Lea Tahuhu and their daughter, Grace.
It’s possible, absolutely. But you can’t blame them if the same level of motivation isn’t there after seeing how one of their own was treated.
Because it doesn’t just impact one’s playing career to be dropped from a White Ferns contract list. For women, it has an even more significant impact on our livelihood.
A maximum White Ferns retainer is currently valued at $64,000 (and $44,000 the minimum), and it’s a severe drop-off from there down to a domestic playing agreement worth $3250.
While it is indeed a wider gulf between a minimum Black Caps retainer ($100,000) and a minimum domestic men’s contract clocking in at $27,000, our female cricketers still stand to lose a lot more.
All of a sudden, their stream of income essentially grinds to a halt, and they have no choice but to find work. We don’t have the luxury of hopping from franchise tournament to franchise tournament earning mega bucks. The only two tournaments for women right now are The Hundred and the WBBL.
We don’t have an Indian Premier League (IPL), Pakistan Super League (PSL) or Caribbean Premier League (CPL) to ply our trade in, and earn decent cheques to tuck away into our KiwiSaver.
Those tournaments may be in the pipeline, but they weren’t there for the mistreated players who’ve gone before, and they aren’t in place now as options for Satterthwaite and her teammates now without a significant source of income.
This isn’t a pity party. Our time for equality and equity in playing opportunities, resources and retainers will come eventually.
We don’t need pity, and we don’t want it.
What these female cricketers are asking for is to be treated with the same level of respect and care their male counterparts receive. If anything, we need even more of it because we stand to lose a lot more.
Every single player is doing all they can on and off the field to inspire the next generation of young cricketers – boys and girls.
But how are we going to inspire future White Ferns after they see how Satterthwaite has been treated?
It doesn’t lend itself in a positive light at all, and could scare prospective players away from committing to a cricket career.
After some promising improvements by NZC over the last few years in terms of investment, support and resourcing, you get the feeling the relationship between the White Ferns and their employer may have taken a few steps backward.
The unrest this has caused will no doubt require a few honest conversations behind closed doors about how all parties are to move forward in a cohesive manner.
If the great Amy Satterthwaite, of all people, is subjected to this type of treatment, then no one in the White Ferns environment is safe going forward. Not exactly a great place to start for what’s being touted as a promising new era – especially for a youngster.
Here’s hoping that if the time is coming soon for the likes of Sophie Devine and Suzie Bates to hang up their spikes, it will be a true celebration of their careers and not one also shrouded in confusion and hurt.
It’s another eventful chapter in the history of women’s cricket, and an unfortunate one. Could the outcry at how this process played out be the catalyst for change to the treatment of players? Who knows.
Regardless, the inspiring and brilliant group of mana wāhine that make up the White Ferns will do what they always do after this.
They’ll dust themselves off, lace up their boots and represent us with everything they have.
