Maia Bouchier is looking to drive change through cricket

By Paul Eddison, Sportsbeat

AS an international cricketer, Maia Bouchier has first-hand experience of just how much climate change is transforming our planet.

Now the 25-year-old wants to play her part in fighting back.

Where some sportspeople pay lip service to sponsor initiatives or campaigns, Bouchier is not just along for the ride, she is trying to drive change within cricket.

Whether that means a change to travel plans for overseas tours, or adjusting the amount of kit delivered to England players, the opener has lots of ideas about how the sport can evolve for the sake of the planet.

“I’ve grown up with a lot of opportunity, my parents have been pretty amazing and we got to travel to a lot of places,” said Bouchier, speaking as MCC launched its ‘Batting For a Better Future’ sustainability campaign.

“We learned the importance of wildlife and natural conservation, we got to see a lot of cultures. So in terms of why I have started to speak up about it (climate change), I saw the environments impacted. Cricket has been impacted by the environment from what I’ve seen.

“I wanted to make people aware of what we can do as a community, because that is what we are, to help the environment.

“There are quite a lot of things we can do. The big one is understanding there is a lot of travel involved and there is a massive carbon footprint for all of us. Because the women’s game is improving so much, it’s more of an impact there. We need to talk about what the best ways are of decreasing that carbon footprint as much as we can.

“We get a lot of kit, it’s something I’ve chatted to the ECB sustainability manager about, what we can do to reduce that. It’s a massive part of reducing the carbon footprint and the waste. There is so much waste around kit

“Things like gloves and pads and helmets. We go away and go to these countries where it is very hot. So it’s thinking about the process after we’ve used our kit, how do we reuse it? Or can we find a way to reduce the impact on the environment.

“It’s hard when you have to go to Australia, on the long trips we need to be a bit lenient. But if you’re travelling six hours to a country, where you could probably easily go economy. That’s my opinion, if as a team, we can be really careful and choose the right time to go on an economy flight. I think that would be amazing. It’s something I am going to try and encourage but it’s about how we can do it as a team.”

MCC’s Batting For a Better Future campaign aims to use the Club’s uniquely independent position within cricket to highlight the challenges that climate change pose on the sport.

Bouchier will be part of the England squad that travels to South Africa this week ahead of a series against the Proteas, where she could make her Test debut.

The opener was most recently in action at the T20 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates, with the soaring temperatures and extreme humidity on another level to anything she has previously experienced.

And with next year’s 50-over World Cup heading to India, Bouchier knows that dealing with extreme weather conditions is becoming part of the job.

She added: “When we go abroad and it’s 45 degrees and we have to play in that heat. I only really experienced that in Dubai, fortunately it was a good day for me, I got a fifty against Scotland. But that was the hottest I’ve ever played in.

“It was the middle of the day and you have to play in pads and full kit. Then I think about the men having to play in Sri Lanka or India, the excessive heat, you see it in articles about the players fainting and go off for heat stroke.

“I’ve definitely experienced more of it in the last two years because I’ve been on that international stage.

“A Test debut for me would be unbelievable, I’ve dreamt about that moment for a long time. But that is something we have to think about with how we prepare. We now play five days, we used to play four. The extra day is a benefit because you could get more results, but playing in that heat is a scary thought. We didn’t think Dubai was going to be that hot but it was. We have to go and play in India next year in the 50-over World Cup, it does scare me a little bit. You always want to be in the top fitness level but knowing how to mentally go out there and play in that heat is another thought.

“I played last year in India, I stayed for the Test match last year, I was in the squad. I played in the T20s. That wasn’t that bad, I was ok in that heat, but I didn’t play in the Test match.

“Hearing from the girls that you come off the field and everyone is just lying in the changing room and having to get in an ice bath which is minus five degrees with blocks of ice. The temperature shock is crazy. I think I’ll only understand that once I’ve played.”

Maia Bouchier was speaking at the launch of MCC’s Batting For a Better Future campaign. For more information, visit www.lords.org/better-future.