ADRIAN SECONI: How do you feel about being elected as the first female president in New Zealand Cricket’s [NZC’s] 122-year history?
DEBBIE HOCKLEY: It is such a cliche but I do feel very privileged to be in the position and grateful that my name was suggested as being capable of doing the job.
AS: So you were approached?
DH: I was asked if I was available and Canterbury nominated me to the board of NZC. It is quite a formal process.
AS: Any hesitancy or were you happy to put your hand up?
DH: To be really honest my first thought, and I was pretty blown away to be asked, was I cannot possibly say no when they have offered it to a female. I think it is really quite significant and even though there might have been an element of trepidation initially, I’m there now and it is all good.
AS: New Zealand Cricket has recently released a report into women’s cricket which recommended more women be appointed to decision-making positions. Is your appointment an attempt to address that issue?
DH: No. People might think it is a knee-jerk reaction from New Zealand Cricket after releasing the report but that is certainly not the case. It has been some months in the doing. In saying that, I’m in an honorary position and I don’t have any decision-making ability. The other thing which I think not enough has been made of is Ingrid Cronin-Knight, a former White Fern player, is on the board of directors and I think that is significant because she is in a decision-making position. My understanding is other associations are looking at getting more women into those governance positions. I really admire NZC for fronting up at a press conference and saying: ‘We’ve dropped the ball here’. To me, there are not that many big sporting organisations who actually put their hands up ... and try to rectify things.
AS: What impact do you hope to have?
DH: As much as anything I know that I’m going to learn a lot. But what I would like to do ... is see if I can get around the district associations and show that NZC is supporting the real grassroots and also to show the parents of the children that they are valued and that we appreciate their support. We want to increase the numbers of people playing, and in those early years, parents are really critical.
AS: Where would you like to see women’s cricket in 10 years?
DH: I hope that there will be a lot more women on the boards of the districts and major associations. I hope that there will be some really good pathways for females which would give them something to aspire to. And not just the White Ferns — I hope there will be a New Zealand A team. We need to keep people playing the sort of cricket that they enjoy playing and whether that is a modified format played on Friday nights rather than Saturday mornings or whatever. We need more opportunities but we have to adapt so we can keep them playing the game.
