Amy Satterthwaite - Diary 3
Members of the White Ferns will give provide diary entries during the Rose Bowl in Australia and 2011 Quad series in England.
Despite the long travel, heavy swollen legs and red eyes there was no time to rest and re-engergise. On our first day we were straight into training including a good run around with Jase our trainer. The pool and gym at our hotel have been getting a hammering as everyone best prepares themselves for the weeks ahead.
After hearing stories of possible drought in England we were not greeted with beautiful hot sunshine. It has appeared briefly at times but never long enough to work on our tan! Fortunately the rain hasn’t hung around for extended periods of time and seems to leave as quickly as it has arrived.
Thankfully after our navigational adventures in Brisbane we have been treated to the luxury of being driven around in a rather large coach. It amazes me that such large vehicles can weave their way around the narrow streets so commonly found in England. We have only had one incident where we hit a traffic light. Besides this it has been smooth sailing.
In preparation for the series we had two warm up games against a Boys first XI and the England Academy. The games were situated at Brentwood School where they have seven artificial nets and hundreds of kids training in their whites. Playing the boys provided a different challenge as they bowl consistently quicker, get more bounce and are faster in the field but it certainly provided us with a good hit out.
We often have to share the coach with another team and I can tell you it is not an enjoyable experience having to be in the same bus as the team you’ve just lost to. After our first game against England we now move on to Bristol and travel with the Indian team who we are to play next. Some of the girls like to unpack and make themselves at home wherever we stay but unfortunately they will not have such luxury as for the next few days we often make flying 24 hour visits to one location before moving on to the next.
After a disappointing start to the series we will train hard again today before taking on the Indians tomorrow where we will look to get our campaign off the ground.
