After 199 appearances for the White Ferns in an international career spanning almost 20 years, Katey Martin could have been forgiven for wanting a break from cricket.
Not a chance.
Martin has worked tirelessly since her retirement in 2022, to become one of the most recognisable voices in cricket; and not just in New Zealand.
She’s now on the road 10 months of the year, commentating on both the women’s and men’s game on tv and radio in multiple countries, and even when she does make it back to her home in Christchurch for a short break, it’s not long before the in-depth preparation that’s a hallmark of her commentary, starts up again.
“I love watching games, to understand tactically, how teams go about it against different batters and the intricacies of bowlers and what they do,” Martin says.
“I’m pretty structured in how I go about it. I look at the background of the player to understand their story, what their strengths and weaknesses are, how I would target them as a bowling unit and what teams have done against them, so I can provide those insights to viewers. That takes watching many games and it’s a lot of effort, but I really enjoy that process of learning and understanding.”
As well as the hours and hours of research she undertakes, Martin needs be acutely aware of the varying needs that broadcasters in different countries have. There’s also the opportunity to work with numerous commentators and gel with them. Whether it’s the Spark Sport and TVNZ cricket family that she’s worked with in New Zealand, or the likes of Mel Jones, Nasser Hussain and Ian Bishop abroad, there’s an art to understanding what makes a good commentary combination.
“Part of my preparation is looking at who you’re on with, at what phase of the game, and what might be important to talk to at that point. How is the game likely to evolve and what’s the feel of the game. Learning those little intricacies within commentary, around the game and around preparation, and who you’re working with, is so important.”
With so little time at home, Martin is used to fitting a lot in when she gets back to Aotearoa.
“When I’m at home and I’ve got some time off, I can catch up with mates, but other people’s lives don’t stop and I do spend a bit of time just getting reconnected with family and friends,” she says.
“I put so much effort into commentary, that you get quite mentally fatigued and coming back home, you just want to be able to have a bit of downtime. I definitely miss spending time with friends and family, but you create a new lifestyle on the road. I’m very close to the people I work with, and fortunate that, especially on the overseas stuff, it tends to be the same group of people, so you get quite a nice bond when you’re away.”
Martin’s first commentary opportunities came when she was still playing. After being mic’d up while keeping wicket for the White Ferns in Australia, Channel 7 asked her to stay on and do some commentary for their Women’s Big Bash League coverage in late 2020.
From there, she was part of the Spark Sport commentary team after they started broadcasting cricket in New Zealand from late 2020, and then TVNZ when Spark Sport folded three years into their six-year broadcasting agreement.
“I guess the big thing for me was around working out who I wanted to be as a commentator. You almost just pick up the mic as a player and talk away, but there’s how you use your voice, how you show insights within the game, but also how you be yourself.”
“You’re meeting the seven-year-old that’s tuning in for the first time, and the 70-year-old that’s watched cricket for 50 years, so it’s trying to find that balance and providing the insight.”
After retiring from cricket, Martin was combining commentary with contract work and consultancy, having previously worked with Christchurch-based firm Computer Concepts Limited for almost a decade. But after a busy 2023 with microphone in hand, she knew it was time to concentrate on commentary full-time.
“It got to the point where I thought, well, let’s do this full time and put a whole lot of effort into it, and see what opportunities come about. I’m sure if I was doing another job, then I probably wouldn’t have that same sort of time to be able to really deep dive into the game.”
Despite all the cricket she’s now commentated on, there’s one highlight that stands head and shoulders above the rest – calling the White Ferns victory at the T20 World Cup in 2024.
“I was on with Natalie Germanos and Pommie Mbangwa who’s done it so many times, and we’ve worked a lot together. I was in tears, probably for the last five overs, with the emotion of understanding what that group had gone through. You feel fortunate to be in a position to watch your mates go out there and win a World Cup and it was something I never thought as a commentator I would ever do in my entire life.”
“The only thing I prepared was, what does this mean for our country as a whole if the girls won? The analogy that come into my head was, well, they’ve gone through so much for them to actually win this tournament and the only thing I could think of was scaling Everest. I guess I put myself in their shoes to think, how big would this moment be for this particular group from where they’ve come from to get to that point, and that was just something that was a bit reminiscent of what we’ve done as a country.”
Despite that career highlight, Martin’s self-reflection meant that it wasn’t long before she had doubts on how the moment had gone.
“I remember the next week, I’d wake up in the middle of the night, going through how I called that moment, how I could have done it better and I guess I’m so critical of myself, because you just want to do that moment justice for that group.”
When she speaks to LockerRoom, Martin is just a few days away from yet another international flight, this time to India, where she’ll be commentating again on the second half of the IPL, the most lucrative men’s T20 competition in the world.
Now, she’s in the UK and Ireland through May, June and early July to cover the White Ferns and Blackcaps playing against England (and Ireland in the men’s case), before watching her former team attempt to defend their T20 World Cup crown in England and Wales.
On Wednesday night/Thursday morning NZT Martin was commentating the White Ferns T20 match for BBC radio.
“I’ve done a lot of commentary stints in India which has been a great experience and I love doing the IPL, but England will be a nice, different type of World Cup.”
Martin has commentated on most White Fern games in recent years and is positive about the chances for Melie Kerr’s side.
“I think they’re in a really good space. When I look at our group, England and the West Indies are probably our main threats and a semi-final would be India, Australia or South Africa. But I think the way that we’re going about it, we’ve still got the experience of the likes of Sophie Devine within that group, and a lot more players are more confident within themselves.”
“I think there’s a lot more inner belief within this group now that they can do it. They’re the world champions for a reason.”
After the World Cup finishes, Martin’s schedule is uncertain and by the time the Kiwi summer comes around later in the year, Sky Sport will be covering international cricket, having reached agreement with New Zealand Cricket to be the exclusive broadcast partner for all home international matches played by the White Ferns and Blackcaps, for six years from the 2026-27 cricket season.
Although it’s unclear when Sky will announce their commentary line-up, Martin will surely be a candidate near the top of their wish list. In the meantime, she’ll continue to travel the world and everyone back home will hope she’ll be calling another T20 World Cup triumph for the White Ferns at Lords on July 5.
