June 27, 2017
Lords spot for Maia Lewis
Cricketer Maia Lewis has been given honorary membership of the MCC Lords cricket club, just the second maori and first wahine Maori asked to join.
Lewis, from Ngati Whatua and Maniapoto, played 78 one day internationals and nine tests for New Zealand, including two as captain.
She has gone on to coach many teams including the Blind Caps selection at this year's World Cup in India.
She says it's a great honour to get welcomed into the hallowed club, and it shows the increasing recognition of women's cricket as a career option for young women.
She'd like to see more Maori take up with sport.
"With 20-20 coming to the fore it suits the Maori style a lot more and whether that's doing something a little different and going out into the marae and getting a different version of cricket into the marae so you are taking it to the people rather than expecting people to come to you which is probably not going to happen in the Maori world, so thinking a little out of the square is probably going to help with that," Lewis says.
She says she was fortunate to play alongside many superb players in her career.
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