Mm

... and there are so many variables in cricket as well.

Every, every ground is so different.

The soil they use is different.

The grass is different, the weather conditions, everything.

Um, and so that's been, uh, uh, that was a really steep learning curve.

And, you know, now I'm, I'm preparing a few pitches, uh, out here at Lord's, and a- as long as every pitch I'm, I'm feeling a little bit more confident with and it's, it's getting better, then I'm happy, but it's a real learn-on-the-job type thing.

So if there is a young kid who's listening to this at the moment, and I'm thinking about, I don't know, a girl at school who, uh, likes being involved in cricket, has listened to you and thinks, "Hang about, I, I, that, I would love to do that," what, what advice would you give, give, give a youngster about sort of getting into the job that you do?

What's the backstory for you in brief? How did it come to pass that a New Zealander would end up working at the home of cricket?

Yeah, it's, it's pretty wild.

Um, I, I'm just a farm kid from, from New Zealand, and then found myself over here without a job and without any real plan.

But I was living with a couple of professional cricket players in Bristol who said the ground staff were short, and I thought I could help them out until they found someone qualified, and then stuck around there for a couple of years, and Lord's job came up and the rest is history, I suppose.

Is that a conversation that's going on in the background at the moment with you guys?

Yeah, of course it is.

Um, and-The thing is that there hasn't been that many women's tests, so it's sort of quite hard to, um, to have the data on it really.

But, um, women's pitches certainly have to be different.

Otherwise, you might cop it.

Yeah, definitely.

And I say it's the most scrutinized 22 yards of grass in the world, the Lord's pitch.

There's a lot of pressure that goes into it.

And that's why it's so important for our team that we all look after each other.

We definitely do cop it.

We cop it most games, to be honest.

But do you think there's a job here for you or is the future in England, do you think?