<p>“It’s fantastic, a great opportunity,” Stalker told Deccan Herald as she reflected on her journey with the Kiwi team. “I love cricket and I love travelling. That combination of the two is an amazing experience for me. I am very blessed to be working with such a great team as well. New Zealanders are a very nice bunch of people. I really enjoy the challenges the job presents.”<br /><br />Enjoying her role as the only other full-time female support staff in international cricket – Chris Broad’s sister is England’s computer analyst -- Stalker said her gender had posed very few challengers. “These boys are really respectful, and there’s always a bit of interest around having a girl,” she laughed.<br /><br />“I have been around male sport for a long time now, I think it depends on the way you handle yourself. You have to pretend you are one of the boys and get on with things. If there are any gender-specific jokes, you laugh along with the rest of them and suck it up. I don’t think it fazes the boys any, me being in the changing room. Maybe at first, initially, they kind of took a step back but I don’t think it even crosses their mind anymore.”<br /><br />Stalker looks at herself as a trail-blazer, a trend-setter of sorts. “I do like to think there is an opportunity for other girls now because of me,” the 30-year-old observed. “Canada have just picked up a female physio for their team and she sent me an e-mail saying the only reason she got the job was because she said, ‘The New Zealand team have got a female physio, so you can have a female in the role’.<br /><br />It was nice to hear that. Having a girl in the team adds something different to the group. I’d like think I add a different perspective on things at times. And I think it’s good for the boys to just have a female around!<br /><br />“On a bad day, you do think why I am here in this foreign place but we all have bad days. We have a really good support team here, coaches and trainers, we try to look after each other. But sometimes, there’s nothing like chatting to your mom.”<br /><br />Revealing the presence of a ‘physios’ club’, Stalker went on, “We all get along really well, we share ideas. The other day when it was raining, Tommy (Simsek, the Sri Lankan physio) and I went through all the geeky stuff that we like to talk about, chatting about new ideas that might be. <br /><br />“It’s the only interaction we get with people in the same profession as us. It’s quite good to have a support network system -- we complain about the same things that other people do!”<br /></p>
<p>“It’s fantastic, a great opportunity,” Stalker told Deccan Herald as she reflected on her journey with the Kiwi team. “I love cricket and I love travelling. That combination of the two is an amazing experience for me. I am very blessed to be working with such a great team as well. New Zealanders are a very nice bunch of people. I really enjoy the challenges the job presents.”<br /><br />Enjoying her role as the only other full-time female support staff in international cricket – Chris Broad’s sister is England’s computer analyst -- Stalker said her gender had posed very few challengers. “These boys are really respectful, and there’s always a bit of interest around having a girl,” she laughed.<br /><br />“I have been around male sport for a long time now, I think it depends on the way you handle yourself. You have to pretend you are one of the boys and get on with things. If there are any gender-specific jokes, you laugh along with the rest of them and suck it up. I don’t think it fazes the boys any, me being in the changing room. Maybe at first, initially, they kind of took a step back but I don’t think it even crosses their mind anymore.”<br /><br />Stalker looks at herself as a trail-blazer, a trend-setter of sorts. “I do like to think there is an opportunity for other girls now because of me,” the 30-year-old observed. “Canada have just picked up a female physio for their team and she sent me an e-mail saying the only reason she got the job was because she said, ‘The New Zealand team have got a female physio, so you can have a female in the role’.<br /><br />It was nice to hear that. Having a girl in the team adds something different to the group. I’d like think I add a different perspective on things at times. And I think it’s good for the boys to just have a female around!<br /><br />“On a bad day, you do think why I am here in this foreign place but we all have bad days. We have a really good support team here, coaches and trainers, we try to look after each other. But sometimes, there’s nothing like chatting to your mom.”<br /><br />Revealing the presence of a ‘physios’ club’, Stalker went on, “We all get along really well, we share ideas. The other day when it was raining, Tommy (Simsek, the Sri Lankan physio) and I went through all the geeky stuff that we like to talk about, chatting about new ideas that might be. <br /><br />“It’s the only interaction we get with people in the same profession as us. It’s quite good to have a support network system -- we complain about the same things that other people do!”<br /></p>
