I mean, does that help with how frustrating it is to be injured for so long?

Yeah, 100%.

I think having had that study was really good for me as well, just to kind of step away from cricket.

I know when I told the Sparks that I wasn't playing this year, I did get emotional as well, but having to get surgery, um but i was you know trying to help out a lot as much as i could at the start but initially inevitably i had to take that step back so i was like oh this isn't helping me really and this probably isn't helping the team because i kind of show up and i wasn't all there and i was kind of in my own little bubble worrying about what was next stressing about All that kind of stuff.

I had long hours, you know, in the gym doing my rehab, seeing physios.

Yeah, so it was, you know, mentally and emotionally draining.

But, you know, we're here now on the other side, which is really great.

Um, so I mean, what's the, what's the chat around how you approach this? Cause it's a, it's a pretty big mountain to climb, right?

Uh, how exciting for you, and, uh, give us a sense of just how much work has gone on since your injury.

Yeah, definitely excited to be, um, going on the tour with the girls.

I've definitely missed being even just amongst them, and same with the Sparks as well, having missed, you know, the last season with my injury.

Um, a lot of work has gone in behind the scenes, um, with the support, um, that I've had with, um, my injury.

Um, yeah, it's been a long one, definitely.

[laughs]

Eden, a few of the big names of White Ferns throughout history have left the building, which means it's, it's next gen, isn't it?

Yeah, 100%.

Uh, how exciting for you, and, uh, give us a sense of just how much work has gone on since your injury.

Yeah, definitely excited to be, um, going on the tour with the girls.

I've definitely missed being even just amongst them, and the same with the Sparks as well.

Having missed, you know, the last season with my injury, um, a lot of work has gone in behind the scenes, um, with the support, um, that I've had with, um, my injury.

Um, yeah, it's been a long one, definitely.

[laughs]

Eden, a few of the big names of White Ferns throughout history have left the building, which means it's, it's next gen, isn't it?

Yeah, 100%.

So, I mean, tell me then about cricket and te reo and these paths and how they kind of have intersected in your recent years.

Yeah, through high school, I had just missed out.

I finished in 2019.

So then I think that was the year that the Māori schools tournament started happening.

So unfortunately, I missed out on that because I'm a bit too old for that.

And then I was lucky enough to play in, I think it was 2024, the Pacific Cup for the first Aotearoa Wahine's team.

So that was pretty... pretty cool and a really great experience that I'll always cherish and I wish I honestly wish that it still did happen but obviously money comes into a lot of things and losing a sponsor doesn't help as well but no it was really cool to kind of get immersed a lot more within my culture and play with a different variety of girls at different levels as well and it's really cool to see how into it they were and the different journeys of Te Reo and Te Ao Māori that they were kind of on as well and it didn't matter what kind of level you were at you know it was all just so inclusive and really awesome and i was only meant to play one game but i ended up making ndc pay for more flights for me to come back and play more games so yeah it was pretty cool experience

It must have been pretty joyful being a part of that episode and, you know, being a part of it being made, because I imagine that there must be times where it kind of feels like a lonely path to be walking, or at least there have been times like that in your life as a cricketer.