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The spirit of cricket

Receiving tickets to the recent ICC Women's Cricket World Cup match, Year 1CS teacher Cass Sealy was keen to share her passion for the sport with some of her students and their parents. The day's highlight for the young fans was the opportunity to try the game for themselves, with a batting lesson on the training fields.
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The spirit of cricket

As a volunteer with Sports Auckland – a charitable trust whose purpose is to inspire our communities to live healthy, active lives – Primary teacher and cricket enthusiast Cass Sealy was involved with the community coaching for the 2022 ICC Women's Cricket World Cup event.

In addition to the fantastic experience she had working with aspiring young cricketers, Cass was able to invite some of her Year 1 class (and their parents) to attend one of the recent matches. For many of her young charges, it was their first introduction to the popular game.

"A lot of children and parents were very excited to see the cricket as some of them had never seen a game before and were keen to watch what happens," says Cass. "The atmosphere at Eden Park was amazing because of the tension of the New Zealand vs England game being so close and exciting."

Her students also enjoyed an impromptu cricket lesson which was met with much enthusiasm, varied amounts of determination and a great deal of giggling. Cass's interactive, hands-on approach helped the children better understand and engage with the action on the pitch, although it did cause a little bit of confusion as they tried to explain their newfound knowledge to their parents.

For Cass, it was a fun, rewarding and slightly exhausting day.

"I am a cricket coach, so I love to help children learn and love the sport. I do not personally play anymore but work towards teaching others to enjoy sport.

"My personal highlight was being on the field to help hold the New Zealand flag and sing our national anthem. However, the students told me that their favourite part was getting to try out cricket for themselves and learning to bat on the Eden Park training field."