Cross-code sisterhood from bowls to balls

Cross-code sisterhood from bowls to balls

It was the kind of babysitting role Julie Blake couldn’t say no to. When Tall Ferns manager Lisa Wallbutton prepared to take maternity leave for her first child, she reached out to fellow female team managers across New Zealand sport for someone who could temporarily fill her shoes. Blake manages New Zealand’s bowls team, the Blackjacks, and had played basketball at school and knew the rules. But she’d never managed the sport before. Still, in a…