Wellington: When the first batter is dismissed at Basin Reserve on Thursday, viewers will see a graphic that not only says “wicket” but also “wikiti”, the Māori translation of the term.
It’s part of a concerted effort by the broadcaster TVNZ and New Zealand cricket authorities to make the game as inclusive as possible in the island nation, while also fulfilling their roles under the longstanding Treaty of Waitangi.
TVNZ uses Maori language on their graphics for the cricket.Credit: TVNZ/Fox Sports
The dualism of English and Māori language in New Zealand public life has been a subject of debate since the election of a new, conservative government last year, with an “English first” policy pushed by Prime Minister Chris Luxon in coalition with the New Zealand First party.
But in cricket, at least, the integration of both Western culture and te ao Māori (the Māori world view) is a point of considerable pride for broadcasters, the cricket board and, based on an intricate and keenly observed ceremony at a prime ministerial reception for both teams here on Monday night, Luxon and his sports minister, Chris Bishop.
“It was great, it’s something we’ve never done, and to be invited there was pretty special,” New Zealand captain Tim Southee said. “They’re obviously big cricket fans, and they enjoyed it as much as we did. So it was a great way to kick off what should be a great couple of weeks.”
Moves to incorporate greater use of te reo Māori (Māori language) in New Zealand cricket commenced some years ago as part of efforts to build greater Indigenous participation in the game.
In a broadcast sense, it began during a previous deal between NZC and the telecommunications company Spark Sports, where Māori names for venues (Aotearoa is the Māori term for New Zealand, Te Whanganui a Tara for Wellington), wickets and fours and sixes were added to live coverage.
There was also a pilot broadcast of a full Māori commentary last summer for a Twenty20 match between New Zealand and Sri Lanka.
When Spark handed the broadcast rights over to TVNZ, the nation’s major free-to-air broadcaster, the cricket coverage also fell under the funding umbrella of Te Māngai Pāho, the government’s Māori language agency.
Additional elements of coverage on TVNZ have included the use of a Māori song by the band Dillastrate as the musical theme of the network’s cricket programming. A multilingual roving sideline reporter, James Tito, has also been part of the broadcast team at matches.
Australian David Warner was greeted with a hongi when he arrived in New Zealand for the T20 series earlier this month.Credit: Getty
“Te reo Māori is an official language in Aotearoa New Zealand. It’s important to us that te ao Māori (or the Māori world view) is reflected and celebrated in what we deliver to our viewers,” a TVNZ spokesperson said. “We incorporate te reo Māori across our news coverage, entertainment programming and we’re also weaving it through our live sports broadcasts – and that now includes our live cricket coverage.
“We’ve been sharing the te reo translations for parts of the game through our graphics, our commentators naturally use the language in calling the match, we have waiata reo music (traditional music) and te reo also features in the roving reporting that accompanies the games.
“We’re acutely aware our coverage is broadcast around the world (Bangladesh, Pakistan, Australia, England, South Africa). We think this is an opportunity to showcase the language on a global stage and celebrate Aotearoa’s unique multiculturalism.”
For its part, Cricket New Zealand remains bullish about the need to reflect the nation’s Indigenous heritage in language, planning and funding, ignoring the complaints of what it describes as a small minority.
“We’ve done quite a bit of work over the last few years on how we approach both the Māori population and people involved in cricket who have Māori heritage, and also our approach to the inclusion of Māori language,” NZC digital broadcast and content manager Ben Mackey said.
“It’s something we’ve made progress on and it is still a work-in-progress. On the broadcast you’ll see small inclusions of te reo which are in common use across New Zealand and often in common use across broadcast content here.
“We’ve also included te reo in our venue signage, so when you’re at the ground, watching, you’ll see most of the big screen assets and LED assets are bilingual, and a wicket is displayed to also say wikiti. Then there’s Whā for four, and Ono for six.”
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