The Board of Directors of Indoor Cricket New Zealand are pleased to announce the appointment of the following individuals to coaching positions in the Open Women and Under-22 Girls’ teams. The terms commence effective immediately and will run through to the World Cup in Australia scheduled for September/October 2020.
The Board has unanimously ratified and endorsed the candidates selected. The recommendations were provided by a three-person interview and selection panel, which consisted of Board members Peter Douglas (Auckland), Paul Anderson (Northern Districts) and Ahmad Khawaja (Canterbury).
NATASHA WILLIAMS: Head Coach – New Zealand Open Women
Natasha Williams is a former New Zealand Open Women’s representative, having played at international level for 12 years. She has also captained New Zealand at Masters level, winning a World Cup with the Masters’ Women in 2008. She was involved with coaching in the Northern Region before moving to Australia where she has been residing the last six years. She was most recently the assistant coach for the New Zealand side during the Trans-Tasman series in Port Macquarie, New South Wales in 2016.
MATHEW EAGLESON: Assistant Coach – New Zealand Open Women
Mathew Eagleson is a former New Zealand Master’s Over-35 representative, who has been involved with coaching provincial women’s sides since 2013. He has led Northern Districts and Auckland Women to provincial titles, and is again coaching the Auckland Women’s team at the Senior Provincial Championships this year.
ROBIN JAMES: Co-Coach – New Zealand Under-22 Girls
Robin James was the incumbent assistant coach of the New Zealand Under-22 Girls team. He has been involved with the girls and women’s programmes for a period of time now and helped run a joint training camp for both teams in April. He coached the Under-15 Boys team at the Junior World Series in 2018.
JESS RAMAGE: Co-Coach – New Zealand Under-22 Girls
Jess Ramage is a former New Zealand Open Women’s player, having played at international level for nine years. She has been involved with coaching the Auckland and Northern Districts provincial women’s sides as well as at age-group level. She most recently coached the Under-17 Girls team to the final of the Junior World Series in 2018.
AUDREY FENTON was appointed as the team manager for the New Zealand Under-22 Girls team. Audrey is currently the Wellington Under-22 Girls team manager and this will be her first role as a New Zealand team manager.
Comments from the Selection Panel:
After advertising for the role of New Zealand Open Women and Under 22 Girls coach we were delighted with the calibre and number of applicants for both roles. This made the selection of the coaches extremely difficult, challenging and exciting for Indoor Cricket New Zealand. Unfortunately some very good applicants have missed out this time round and we hope to see them coaching at this level in the future.
Natasha Williams brings with her years of experience playing at provincial and international level. Although she is currently living in Australia it is clear that Natasha has kept in close contact with the players in the women’s game. She was the assistant coach for the Trans-Tasman series in 2016.
Mathew Eagleson as well brings with him years of experience in the women’s game. He is currently coaching the Auckland Women’s provincial team and has been involved in coaching this team, with the exception of the years when he played provincials, since 2013. Mathew has also represented New Zealand at the international level as a player.
Robin James is the current assistant coach of the Under-22 Girls team and has stepped up to a co-coaching role. Having worked closely with this group in the recent past, his knowledge going forward will be valuable. Robin is a current New Zealand Over-45 Men’s representative and will attend the Masters World Series later this year.
Jess Ramage also brings with her years of experience and is the incumbent coach for Northern Districts Women. She coached the Under-17 Girls to the Junior World Series Final in 2018. Jess has played at provincial and international level and we believe she will be an excellent addition to this side.
Enquiries:
media@indoorcricketnz.org.nz