Aotearoa's White Ferns have snapped an 11 game losing streak in ODI cricket, finally! What if I also told you that the White Ferns last three wins have all come in the third game of three-game ODI series, after the White Ferns had lost the first two games. That's the thing about these White Ferns ODI shenanigans as there are superficial bits and bobs that make everything appear slightly better than they actually are. When you get caught deep in these White Ferns ODI mangroves, the cricketing brain snaps just like those jandals caught in the mud.

Brooke Halliday. After smacking 79 @ 141.07sr in the second warm up game vs England, Halliday was by far the best kiwi batswoman in this series - playing in her first two games of ODI cricket. Halliday came to the crease in the first game with Aotearoa 104/5 halfway through their innings and Halliday salvaged the innings with her 50 @ 92.59sr to take the White Ferns up to a quasi-competitive 178.

That got chased down in 33.4 overs by England, losing just 2 wickets.

The new captain of the Northern Spirit talks about the season ahead and the new faces within the team.

Then, Halliday scored 60 after the White Ferns collapsed to 34/5 in 14 overs. Another ODI and another rescue job from the new kid on the block. I'll wiggle through what happened in the third ODI, however it's important to note that Halliday was the only White Fern to step up to the challenge laid down by England in the most important games.

Halliday is a 25-year-old from Northern Districts, who came on to the domestic scene back in 2012/13. In eight summers of List-A cricket, Halliday had one 50+ knock and averaged over 20 in just two of those seasons. Even last summer Halliday wasn't up to much in the 50-over format as she scored 60 runs in 5inns and then exploded with Hallyburton-Johnstone Shield runs this summer.

Halliday is currently 3rd in HBJ Shield runs with 264 runs @ 52.80avg/84.07sr. Then came the tour games vs England, featuring Halliday whacking 3 sixes in her knock of 79 and that's more sixes than any White Ferns batter hit in the three ODIs. Halliday finished the series with 110 runs @ 55avg/82.08sr.

Somewhere along the line - perhaps an immense about of 2020 lockdown throwdowns - Halliday found a next level. This makes the fact that Halliday wasn't part of NZC's six development contracts somewhat acceptable as she did bust through late last year, although Halliday is quite clearly among the best female cricketers in Aoteaora let alone the six development slots.

Big chur to Halliday for snapping up her opportunity.

The third ODI, was dominated by Amy Satterthwaite and Amelia Kerr. Kerr took 4w @ 4.75rpo and then showed her legit all-rounder status in scoring 72* alongside Amy Satterthwaite's 119*.

Satterthwaite and Kerr are joined by Suzie Bates, Lea Tahuhu and Sophie Devine as Aotearoa's world-calss cricketers. When they perform as such, the kiwis are highly competitive and had this happened in either of the first two games it would be far more interesting. The fact that it didn't, well that's par for the White Ferns ODI course in three-game series.

2018 vs England: loss, loss, win.

2019 vs India: loss, loss, win.

2019 vs Australia: loss, loss, loss.

2020 vs South Africa: loss, loss, loss.

2020 vs Australia: loss, loss, loss.

2021 vs England: loss, loss, win.

See the trend there? Lots of losses and the only wins come after losing the series. Even then, things get weirder as the losing margins are hefty. The 2018 losses to England were both by 120+ run, the 2019 losses vs India were by 9 wickets and 8 wickets, then Australia snared a 5-run win, 95-run win and a 7-wicket win.

In Aotearoa, against South Africa (who aren't a big-three women's cricket nation) South Africa smoked the White Ferns by 7 wickets, 8 wickets and 6 wickets. Then the kiwis toured Australia and lost by 7 wickets, 4 wickets and 232 runs. This series vs England saw the Ferns lose by 8 wickets and 7 wickets. If these margins were consistently closer, winning the third game would be all good as the Ferns showed that they can kick it competitively and then snare a win.

Those margins are all large though, meaning that the White Ferns get torched to lose the series and then it's a different beast in the final game. So, why didn't the senior players like Sattertwhaite and Kerr stand up when it mattered most?

'Senior players need to stand up' was a headline throughout this series and while it's cool in theory, this points to far deeper issues in the White Ferns. Since July 1st, 2018 the White Ferns have played 18 games, won three and lost 15. I've covered the Ferns throughout this period and the only staple has been the presence of senior/world-class players around a rotating cast of experienced players (Katie Perkins, Frances Mackay) and various young players.

For whatever reason, the White Ferns best players haven't stood up for three years and then as they are being touched up by England they're supposed to magically do so?

I'm of a different belief as I reckon there is only so much that the leaders/world-class players can do. The best White Ferns during this 18-game stretch have been the leaders/world-class players and they have done their best to drag the team with them. Any under-performing with these players aligns with another weird White Ferns vibe where the Ferns environment simply doesn't bring the best out of their players.

Coach Bob Carter took the helm mid-way through 2019...

"Carter, who is contracted until the end of the 2021 ICC Women's World Cup is more interested in looking forward towards his tenure than worrying about the White Ferns turmoil over the last 10 months".

Turmoil?

Since Carter took over from Haidee Tiffin, the Ferns have played 12 ODIs with one win. Carter's objective is to take the Ferns through to the (now 2022) World Cup and if the World Cup was to be played any time soon, the preparation currently sits in the 'turmoil' bucket.

Also, Carter is a bloke, Tiffin is a female. Aotearoa has a certain perception of how we do equality and in this case, gender equality with coaching roles. If you are a champion of women in sport, equality in coaching opportunities and the importance of the divine feminine, then a bloke taking over from a female coach and taking the team deeper into a losing stretch is worthy of a fuss.

Carter's assistant coaches are two blokes; Jacob Oram and Rob Nicol.

The six associations - the six domestic cricket teams - are all coached by men except for Northern Districts. Aussie Joanne Broadbent is the head coach of ND, taking the job mid-way through 2020 and maybe that helped Halliday break through?

I'm a bloke. I have nothing against these individuals, I'm merely dealing in facts and figures. A male coach took over a female coach and the 'turmoil' got worse, with two males in assistant coaching roles. Five of the six domestic teams are coached by males. Where's the fuss about this? Where are the people highlighting the need for female coaches? In those nine coaching roles I've listed above, one is a female - and the player coached by the female was the Ferns best vs England.

Oram's an interesting case here as well, considering he stepped into the bowling coach role back in 2018. 18 games comes out to 180 possible wickets available and the Ferns have taken 96 of those wickets, while losing heavily. At the time of Oram's appointment, this was noted as an exciting wrinkle to watch out for...

"We've seen what he can do through his work with Hannah Rowe at the Central Hinds and we're looking forward to having him with us on a full-time touring basis."

Rowe hasn't taken a wicket in her last seven ODI games, after being impressive early in her career and that conveniently splits up as pre-Oram and with Oram.

2016: 5w @ 29.60avg.

2017: 8w @ 12.25avg.

2018: 6w @ 13avg.

2019: 0w.

2020: 0w.

2021: 0w.

Various young players have come into the White Ferns system and struggled. One example that has been crystal clear is Auckland's Lauren Down. Down was dropped from the Ferns ODI squad after averaging 7.50 in 11 games, well below her List-A average of 27.22. After putting up 97 in the first of the warm up games vs England, Down rolled through scores of 69 and 104 in the HBJ Shield. Down has consistently shown batting class, but can't translate that into ODI success.

There are pockets of this in White Ferns squad members over the past three years. Maddy Green is a talented cricketer, who has a highest-score of 35 in her last 8inns (across two years). Holly Huddleston was also dropped for this series and she took wickets averaging below 20 in 2016 and 17, before averaging 35+ in 2018 and 2020; Huddleston didn't take a wicket in 2019.

Natalie Dodd's List-A average of 39.39 drops down to 13.81 in ODI cricket. Frances Mackay's 42.92avg in LA drops down to 16.20 in ODI cricket. Teenager Fran Jonas was thrown to the wolves vs England and didn't take a wicket.

Previously, I viewed this disparity as the player not being quite good enough to jump up to international cricket. The struggles are so comprehensive now, across batting and bowling, youngsters and experienced players, along with the results and margins, that this can only be viewed as a White Ferns environment that simply isn't conducive to individual development and success.

There are success stories, that seem separate to this Ferns situation. The Kerr sisters are clearly supremely talented athletes and cricketers, Halliday burst out of nowhere to dominate. Let alone the brilliance of Bates, Devine and Satterthwaite. For everyone else, they step into White Ferns cricket and struggle, either lacking improvement or getting worse.

Which brings me to team selection, especially ahead of a World Cup. There appears to be no clarity in what the White Ferns ODI team is trying to do in building this team. The selection of Jonas was nice, although Leigh Kasperek is the best spin partner for A-Kerr and even then there are more well-rounded players like Anna Peterson or Mackay who are far more likely to contribute to a winning World Cup campaign.

Kate Ebrahim is the best HBJ Shield batswoman in Aotearoa and has been among the best for her last two seasons. Ebrahim was not selected for this ODI squad, only the T20I squad. Mackay scores her HBJ Shield runs as an opener and is then put in a lower order role. Katie Perkins continues to stack up HBJ Shield runs and her experience is always brushed aside for younger players.

What's the goal here? Performing well at a home World Cup requires the best female cricketers in Aotearoa, not a development process. This escalates in niggle when there is a track record of players under-performing in the White Ferns environment, let alone the lack of female coaches. We'll move into this T20I series where selections are equally as weird and as the White Ferns are slightly better at T20I cricket, most of this will be brushed under the rug. Just as one ODI win seemed to brush years of losses under the rug.

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Peace and love.