Auckland HEARTS recognised in Auckland Cricket's History

Two years ago, after discovering inaccuracies in the record keeping, Auckland Cricket embarked on a project to ensure the history of Women's Domestic Cricket was accurately recorded and our players were recognised.

On Thursday 8th August 2024, Auckland Cricket hosted the ACA Celebration of Women's Domestic Cricket at Sky City, where current and former Auckland HEARTS players were presented with their baggy blue cap embroided with their playing numbers.

ACA's history in Women's Cricket goes back almost 90 years, with the first official List A match played in January 1935 against England. In attendance were 73 players spanning seven decades of domestic cricket in Auckland. Judith Jensen, was the eldest player present, at 93 years old, she had travelled from Queensland via Palmerston North to receive her cap.

Five players from the 2000 World Cup winning team present - Emily Drumm, Clare Nicholson, Rebecca Rolls, Katheryn Ramel, and Helen Watson.

Five current WHITE FERNS were attendance - Maddy Green, Izzy Gaze, Fran Jonas, Molly Penfold, and Lauren Down who has recently returned to cricket after the birth of her daughter, Ruby.

To celebrate those who have come before the current players, current HEARTS players were asked to present the caps to the past players.

HEARTS and WHITE FERNS Alumni, Katie Perkins, emceed the evening which concluded with a Q&A panel including Katheryn Ramel, Shelley Fruin, Lynda Prichard and Lauren Down.

The atmosphere was electric with everyone catching up with old teammates. At times Katie had trouble getting everyone's attention to continue with the formalities.

The evening was more meaningful than ACA could have imagined it would be. It was very special to honour and acknowledge those who represented Auckland, ensuring our history is accurately recorded and players are acknowledged.

ACA believes this will leave a lasting impact on our sport as women will see that we have a rich history and Auckland Cricket is on a journey to ensure we are accurately and appropriately recognising the women's game.

Our alumni are a fantastic asset to the sport and this is the first step to re-engaging with alumni, who are so valuable to the future of the cricket.

What our players said about the night

"I was touched to be acknowledged as an Auckland player and it was fun to catch up with some many old faces ( including my own)."

"Just wanted to thank you for all your hard work bringing that night together. At one point I could hardly hear the person next to me talking as the general chatter around the room was so full on. Awesome."

"I just want to say thank you to you and everyone involved for arranging such an amazing evening on Thursday. It was so exciting and such a buzz to be part of it and to be honoured that way."

"I just want to send a quick note to say well done and thank you for a lovely night last night. The work put in to dig deep into the history of the women's game and acknowledge it the way you did was awesome. I can tell you a lot of the 90’s and 20’s crew that were there were very much appreciative of it 😊"

"Just a quick note to say thank you very much for such a lovely evening. It was great to celebrate women’s sport in such a great way. Thanks for a great evening tonight. It was a pleasure to see so many friends from my playing and administrating days and to be able to bring my husband along as well was great. Sometimes we forget the behind the scenes people who enable us to be part of this wonderful game that gave us so much pleasure. Your support in growing the game is wonderful and I look forward to being at as many matches as I can get to this coming summer."