New Zealand men’s and women’s teams sport Aotearoa shirts to honour national day

February 6 was a happy day for New Zealand cricket as both the country’s men’s and women’s team won their respective T20I matches against their Indian counterparts in Wellington. While the women’s had a closer victory by 23 runs after the Indian eves faced a dramatic collapse, Rohit Sharma’s side faced a loss by 80 runs – India’s heaviest in the shortest format.

The day was also special as the Kiwi teams – the men (Black Caps) and women (White Ferns) – honoured the Waitangi Day by wearing Aotearoa shirts in their respective games. It was on February 6 in 1840 when the Treaty of Waitangi, considered to be the founding document of the island nation, was signed. It is observed as a public holiday in New Zealand.

The men and women cricket teams of New Zealand made an impressive return against India by winning the respective first matches of the three-game series. The hosts lost to India in the 50-over series played before the T20Is, in both the men’s and women’s categories. While the men led by Virat Kohli and later Rohit won their five-match series 4-1, the women led by Mithali Raj won their three-match series 2-1.

The Black Caps and White Ferns will continue to sport their new jerseys in the second and third games of the series – to be held in Auckland (Feb 8) and Hamilton (Feb 10) – reported The New Zealand Herald.

First for White Ferns, not for Black Caps

This is not the first time, however, that the Black Caps are wearing Aotearoa shirts during a series. They had sported the same during their 2015 ODI series against Zimbabwe to commemorate the Māori Language Week. For the White Ferns, though, it was the first such instance.

New Zealand Cricket chief executive David White said that their approach was not only in support of the country’s national day but also an effort on the organisation’s behalf to better connect with the Māori.

“NZC wants to extend cricket’s reach and make it more welcoming to communities not always closely aligned with the game,” he was quoted as saying.

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