Cricket World Cup trailblazer has high hopes for women’s game

When the first ball of the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup is bowled in Mount Maunganui tomorrow, one Marlborough resident will be watching with special interest.

Judi McCarthy, who resides in Waikawa, was a trailblazer for women’s cricket in this country.

As a right-handed opening batter, she played 11 test matches and five one day internationals for New Zealand between 1966-1975, scoring five half centuries and a test century, against England.

In 1973 Judi - maiden name Judi Doull - was part of a history-making cricketing adventure. She and 13 team-mates travelled to England to take part in the inaugural cricket World Cup tournament.

The women’s event, which featured seven countries playing 60-over matches, was the first of its kind, being staged two years before the first men’s World Cup, which was also hosted by England, and won by the West Indies.

The Kiwis gave a strong account of themselves. They beat eventual victors England, losing only to Australia and an International team. But for weather disruptions they could have finished second, and even had a shot at winning if other results had fallen their way.

The 84-year-old says she relished the opportunity to participate in the first World Cup, although recalled that the time between games was an issue, with the players not getting enough cricket and becoming sick of mayoral receptions and down time, especially as the whole trip was self-financed.

“But apart from that I wouldn’t grumble,” she added, “because they set the ball rolling.”

She lists the 1966 tour to England as one of the highlights of her career.

“That was a very long tour. It took six weeks to get there and six weeks to get back – in six-berth cabins”, she recalled.

“That was my first time in [the NZ side] and then I played every year after that.

“We had a brilliant tour in ’72 to Australia and South Africa. We weren’t considered good enough for Aussie so they gave us a five-day test and we beat them. We had never beaten them before, then we went to South Africa and won the test series over there, so that was probably the best results we achieved.”

Judi retired in 1975 after playing her final test against the Australians at the Basin Reserve and was made a life member of NZ Cricket in 2020.

She admits that often in that era women’s cricket was seen as something of an add-on to the men’s game.

“They used to say it was money, that nobody came [to watch] and that was true … [the women’s game] had to generate its own money.

“When you were playing in those days you had cover all your expenses, even when you were on tour, but the good thing was that you didn’t lose jobs because [your employers] were so happy to see you playing top class sport.”

Previously based in Canterbury, she moved to Marlborough soon after her final test and put her efforts into administration, becoming chair of Central Districts women’s cricket soon after.

In 1992 NZ Women’s Cricket, who had previously governed their own game, amalgamated with their male counterparts under the NZ Cricket banner, a move that Judi felt slowed the growth of the women’s game.

“Once we amalgamated there was very little development … we should have had under-17, under-21, under-25 teams but NZ Cricket let that junior section fall away. That resulted in players stepping up to international cricket before they had the necessary depth of experience.”

Judi has been a national women’s cricket selector and manager. She ran the Silver Fern Club for many years, arranging get-togethers for former NZ players, until handing that over to the parent body in 2010.

Cricket is not the only string to her sporting bow. She is a life member of the Picton Golf Club, is heavily involved with the Whitehead Park Bowling Club and previously coached a secondary school team that claimed a national basketball title.

An energetic and experienced administrator, Judi has a simple rationale for those wondering whether to step forward in that area. “If you are interested, don’t you want to know how things work?”, she suggests.

As for the 2022 Cricket World Cup, Judi feels New Zealand have a very good chance of doing well. She plans to be in the stands cheering them on, dependent on “this COVID thing”, and says she has “her fingers crossed” for Kiwi success.

“I have been offered some tickets [to the games]. NZ Cricket have scheduled a reunion dinner for the 1973 team in early April with all being invited but we will have to see what happens.”

When asked whether she would prefer to be playing nowadays or in her heyday, Judi was ambivalent. “There is a yes and a no. The pressure has gone up with increased scrutiny on players and results in the modern game … but in some ways we had it better in less complicated times. It was totally amateur and a more balanced lifestyle.

“Mind you, I wouldn’t mind being 30 again if I knew what I knew later on,” she added with a chuckle.