WEEK 2: Martin Snedden CNZM

WEEK TWO: Martin Snedden CNZM, Board Member & ‘One Cricket’ Project Lead, New Zealand Cricket (NZC)

13.30 – 14.15 NZT, Friday 17 April 2020

All around the world, cricket is being disrupted at all levels, from elite to grassroots.

International cricket came to an instant halt for our New Zealand teams when Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced tough new border restrictions would come into force at midnight on 15 March 2020 to control the spread of COVID-19. The BLACKCAPS team were rushed home from Australia, after cancellation of remaining matches in the Chappell-Hadlee series and the pending T20 series. Since then, the WHITEFERNS scheduled tour of Sri Lanka starting in late April has also been postponed indefinitely, along with all other fixtures at international and domestic level. The community game is also at an unprecedented standstill due to the ongoing Level-4 lockdown. New Zealand Cricket (NZC) has been quick to move, putting in place a range of measures to protect the future of the game at all levels. With the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup due to be played in Aotearoa in just under 12 months (Feb/Mar 2021), we asked Martin to talk about the leadership challenges current and future for NZC. In particular, Martin talked about the origins of the ‘One Cricket’ project – which is designed to diversify and include all New Zealanders in cricket – plus he spoke about the impact of a loss of grant funding and the opportunity for sports to collaborate cross-code.

A former 1980s BLACKCAP, Martin brings a wealth of ‘business of sport’ experience to the table. Martin, at various stages, has been Chief Executive of NZC, Rugby New Zealand 2011 (which delivered RWC 2011), Tourism Industry Association NZ, and Duco Events as well as having been a Director of the ICC and World Masters Games 2017. Martin is passionate about inclusion, now leading NZC’s ‘One Cricket’ project. He is a Board member of Women in Sport Aotearoa.

WATCH NOW:

Read some of the media coverage post-interview:

‘New Zealand sport has good opportunity post Covid-19 – Martin Snedden‘, Radio New Zealand.

‘Clubs likely lose out on millions — Snedden‘, Otago Daily Times.

‘How the Black Caps home summer might look and why NZ Cricket is depending on it‘, Stuff.

‘Government rules out competitive sport at Level 3, as golfers wait for clarity‘, Stuff.

This week’s moderator: journalist and commentator, Rikki Swannell!

After a fantastic effort as ‘Week One Moderator’ for this new series, we were thrilled to welcome Rikki back again for Week Two!

Rikki has been a sports broadcaster for 15 years, and now works in a freelance capacity as a commentator and reporter. She can largely be heard on Sky Sport, where she is a regular commentator on netball, rugby and tennis, and on the World 7s series, working for World Rugby. She started her career as a journalist at Radio Sport and Newstalk ZB and has covered everything from snooker and darts, to cricket and rowing, Olympic and Commonwealth Games and various World Cups. Since going it alone in 2016, Rikki has diversified to become an accomplished event MC, long form print and online writer, media advisor and trainer and web copy-writer. She has a keen interest in the business of sport, governance and media issues. Rikki has kindly provided her services free, to help this series.

Those interested in working with Rikki should contact her on rikki.swannell@gmail.com. We highly recommend her!