Come in spinner – Kasperek’s lost time
It didn’t take Leigh Kasperek long to make an impact, once she was back in New Zealand, out of managed isolation, and playing for the Wellington Blaze once more.
Her 14-day hotel stay ended on December 27 and on January 1 she was at Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui playing the Northern Spirit.
Kasperek is grateful that she’s part of the Blaze’s title quest, after heading home to the United Kingdom last March to be with family as Covid-19 hit, then spending a long time trying to get back to New Zealand.
The 28-year-old arrived in Wellington from Scotland in 2012, then qualified to represent her adopted country and earned her first White Ferns callup in 2015, while she was based in Dunedin, and has since gone on to play 40 T20s and 33 ODIs over the past six years.
But despite living here for the past nine years, Kasperek only applied for residency last October and hadn’t been granted it when she headed north, leaving her to rely on her talent visa as she tried to get back through the country’s tightly-restricted border.
‘‘In hindsight it would have been nicer, maybe, if I’d stayed here – things are definitely a lot better than they are in the UK,’’ Kasperek said this week.
‘‘But at the time it was the best decision and I probably would’ve made the same one, even if I’d known [how difficult getting back would be] – I was just too worried about family at that time and needed to be close to them.’’
New Zealand Cricket and Cricket Wellington got behind Kasperek as she started to look at returning in June, but it took three applications before she was granted an exemption in November, and while she was waiting, she missed out on six White Ferns matches across the Tasman.
‘‘It was really frustrating, just constantly not really knowing what was happening and obviously wanting to try and get back and it just not being possible,’’ Kasperek said. ‘‘That’s always a bit of a nightmare, but there wasn’t really much you could do about it.’’
Once she was granted permission to return, Kasperek still had to sort her flights and her voucher for managed isolation, and she ultimately ended up arriving back in the country on December 13, which meant her 14-day hotel stay ran through Christmas.
‘‘I was at a good hotel, so got a nice Christmas roast with everything, which was lovely,’’ she said.
‘‘I’d had to say goodbye to all my family and then that day is kind of synonymous with being together, so that was probably the toughest day, but it was only a couple of days until I got out, and I was just so excited about that, so it wasn’t too big of a deal.’’
By her own admission, she felt ‘‘a little bit lost’’ as she made 17 off 11 and took 1-20 off two overs in the Blaze’s first loss since 2018.
But a week later, back at the Basin Reserve, she was the star of the show, taking 4-16 and making an unbeaten 20 off 30 balls as they got revenge with a win over the same opponent.
Then on Thursday, against the Otago Sparks at University of Otago Oval in Dunedin, she took 2-20 with her off spin before Sophie Devine secured the win with a record-breaking century.
Five more Super Smash matches plus a finals match or two lie ahead for the top-of-the-table Blaze, who are seeking their fourth domestic Twenty20 title in a row, starting today at Hagley Oval in Christchurch to play the Canterbury Magicians.
Kasperek had ‘‘a bit of a shock’’ as she started to get back into her cricket. She’d flown in and out of the United Arab Emirates in November to take part in the Women’s T20 Challenge, which ran alongside the Indian Premier League finals, but had otherwise been inactive, so she is loving being back with the
Blaze. ‘‘I just feel so happy to be back and I think I’ve got a new perspective on cricket in terms of, well, it’s just a game, go out and enjoy it.
Kasperek has an eye on the White Ferns fixtures that start on February 23 – three ODIs and three T20s against both England and Australia.
‘‘They’re the top two teams in the world, so you get a pretty good indication of where you’re at when you’re playing against them,’’ she said.