BACK IN BLACK – Can New Zealand do it again?

The White Ferns’ exciting young batter Georgia Plimmer sits down with Clare McEwen to talk about the upcoming ICC Women’s T20 World Cup. Clare also grabbed a quick word with New Zealand’s seasoned batter, Maddy Green.

New Zealand were considered surprise winners of the 2024 Women’s T20 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates. Now they’re looking to back it up with a follow-up win in England this summer. 

The White Ferns have had a strong build up to the tournament, beating South Africa 2-1 and drawing with England in their recent ODIs. Ten of their 15-strong squad were in the 2024 winning squad, including last time’s Player of the Tournament, Melie Kerr. Captain Kerr took a record 15 wickets last time out.

But three stalwarts of the game – Sophie Devine, Suzie Bates, and Lea Tahuhu – will retire at the end of this World Cup.

At the other end of her career is 22-year-old Georgia Plimmer. Despite her young age, this is Plimmer’s third ICC Women’s T20 World Cup. She was a crucial part of their winning campaign in 2024 and finished as one of the top-scoring batters across the competition.

What does the T20 World Cup mean to you?

[Georgia Plimmer] It’s just awesome to be able to be on a world stage with every country in one spot. It’s the pinnacle of our sport.

And after the success we had at the last one, coming into this one I think it just means a lot more to our group to try and go back-to-back. I guess people were probably a little bit surprised by it last time, but we want to show that it’s a format that we’re really good at and we love to play. Hopefully we can continue that success.

What’s your first memory of a T20 World Cup?

I wasn’t really a big cricket watcher when I was younger because I didn’t really play cricket until later. I went to the Under-19 World Cup in South Africa, which was pretty awesome. To be around people my age and see those people come through now and be playing in these World Cups – it’s cool to see that transition. It was pretty cool to be over there and see the crowds too.

I think it’s pretty cool how each country gets behind their different T20 World Cups. In South Africa they’ve got lots of music, lots of people dancing in the crowds, and that’s what brought the fizz. Then you have Dubai with the massive stadiums.

It’ll be cool to see what England’s going to be like in terms of how they’re going to show up.

What do you enjoy most about the T20 format?

It’s the freedom that you can have. I think there’s so many different ways you can go about playing it – across different countries or against different players, you can have a way that you want to go about it. 

I think it’s the individuality of the format that makes you able to express how you want to play. Whether that’s batting, bowling, or fielding. It’s a way to express how you want to be playing. 

Which opponents are you most looking forward to playing against?

Hard to go past England. I think being at home and we’re in their pool as well – so we’ll be playing them earlier on in the tournament schedule. It will be pretty cool to play against the home side in the World Cup and having the crowd – and sort of being the underdog in that scenario. Obviously they’re a world-class side, as we’ve seen over plenty of years, and I think both our teams have been building into this new phase. So, hopefully a great match.

How are you feeling about playing in the big iconic grounds here?

It’s pretty awesome. We played a few in the last series that we were here – being able to be at grounds that you watched on TV as a kid and never thought you’d be playing at. Being able to be here and see all the stadiums, see the setups. 

I think now with all the County stuff, especially for women, it’s pretty cool to see how far that’s been progressing compared to what we have at home. It’s cool to see the women’s stats in the changing rooms, they have their own places there. Being able to see that a lot more this time around is great.

What do you think the atmosphere will be like – you’ve touched on this –  but have you got any preconceived ideas?

It’s funny because the first tour I ever went on was the Commonwealth Games in England. I remember that being my first White Ferns experience being out on the field and seeing the atmosphere. I thought it was pretty awesome. 

I think they [the spectators] really get around you. When we were playing Australia, I feel like they were cheering for us, but then when we played England, obviously, you get the other side of that. I think it’s pretty cool having the crowd really into it. Even in the latest game we played in 50-overs, having the crowd so engaged and being quite vocal about it as well.

That’s why you play international cricket. Being able to see the supporters actually engaged in your cricket and it’s not just you out there.

Why should people unfamiliar with women’s cricket come and watch the T20 World Cup?

I think it’s pretty different to the male game. It’s the individuality of how different people go about it. 

There’s a lot more intricacies compared to the men’s game, where there’s so much power and the bats are massive and it’s just like who can score 250. Whereas in the women’s game, it’s a lot more strategic. 

You’re trying to figure out different ways to score and  different areas you can score off. There’s quite a few personalities in the game as well – you can see that out on the field. It’s more individual. 

And I think that’s what young girls and women actually engage with most, the personalities.

Yeah. And stories behind people and how they’ve made it there. It’s pretty cool. 

How do you feel your season’s going so far?

We’ve just come off a big home summer and I entered for a little part of it  – a mixed bag but I’m still young in my career and there’s a lot I’m trying to learn in both formats [ODI and T20]. I’m trying to learn from some of our older players who are retiring after the World Cup as well – to try and get as much as I can out of them.

The T20 format is so fickle it can sometimes go well and you might change one thing and it goes even better. Or you could change one thing and it goes worse. It’s pretty cool being able to try and figure things out at this point in my career and with the way the game’s progressing.

I’ve been enjoying trying to figure out a lot of things, problem solve out there. But yeah, hopefully a few bigger scores in the 50-over format. But I’m just trying to make the most of what I can at each point, and learn as much as I can as well.

What are your ambitions in cricket? 

It’s incredible that cricket has got to the point where it’s ahead of a lot of other women’s sports –  especially in New Zealand. 

We’ve become professional and I’ve been lucky enough to be professional from such a young age – so to be able to do this as a job and try to get younger girls to think this is a great job. 

I’m trying to enjoy it as much as I can and show how much fun it is and get people engaged. I guess cricket can be seen as a boring game or a long game, so it’s trying to show the other side – how fun, and engaging it can be. 

And the relationships you can make with people. I’m so grateful that I’ve been able to do that.

You win and lose, but when I get to think back on my career, the relationships I’ve made, the memories of being together and that growth that I’ve been doing. That.

Maddy Green is at the other end of the experience spectrum and at 33-years-old has played over a hundred T20 internationals.  Here’s what she had to say ahead of the tournament.

What’s your first memory of the T20 World Cup?

[Maddy Green] I think my first T20 World Cup was in Bangladesh, 2014. So a fair while ago now but I think T20 cricket has transformed the women’s game. It’s been cool to be involved in the team over the last 10 to 12 years and seeing the progress in the women’s game. 

And to have another T20 World Cup here in the UK is really exciting. I remember watching the last T20 World Cup here. I think it was 2009, and the White Ferns were playing England in the final.

It’s pretty cool to see how far the game has come since that point in time. It’s a really exciting tournament and I’m really looking forward to being a part of it.

Who are you looking forward to coming up against at the World Cup?

[Green] We play England at the Oval in our last group game and by all accounts tickets are selling out pretty quickly. So to play England at home, in their own conditions, at a really great ground, it’s pretty exciting. So I’m really looking forward to that fixture.

Photos: ICC

New Zealand’s T20 WWC fixtures

Sat 13th June 18:30 – West Indies v New Zealand, Hampshire Bowl

Tues 16th June 14:30 – New Zealand v Sri Lanka, Hampshire Bowl

Fri 19th June 18:30 – New Zealand v Ireland, Hampshire Bowl

Tues 23rd June 10:30 – New Zealand v Scotland, Bristol County Ground

Sat 27th June 18:30 – England v New Zealand, The Oval

All matches live on Sky Sports.
The England v New Zealand game will be available for free on the Sky Sports app.