However, in clubs and schools around the country a quiet revolution is gathering pace.
BatFirst aims to put a bat in the hand of every Year 3 child attending a Decile 1-5 school in Auckland.
Photo: Claudia Raven - Auckland Cricket
Seventeen months ago, Carol Agafili had never played traditional cricket. But that all changed when she heard Samoa women s captain Regina Lili i speak at the McAuley High School Sports Awards in 2019.
The Kiwi Samoan teen is now a regular at the Papatoetoe Cricket Club, where Lili i works as a women s development officer, and earned a call-up to last year s Auckland Under 17 women s team.