The New Zealand Over-50s cricket team will compete in a tri-series in Brisbane involving Australia and Sri Lanka from July 3-9.
The 14-man NZ squad will again be led by former Glamorgan star Adrian Dale and will include stalwarts like ex-Black Cap Richard Petrie, Andrew Nuttall, Dean Askew and Mason Robinson. The batting lineup will be particularly strong, with Petrie, Dale and Robinson all among the top run-scorers in international over-50s cricket, along with former Otago first-class opener Andrew Hore. The uncapped players in the squad are ex-Northern Districts leg-spinner Adil Somani, former Otago and Wellington batsman Scott McHardy, Wellington club cricket legend and New Zealand indoor cricket rep Colin Owens, Wellington left-arm spinner Darren Sears, hard-hitting Canterbury all-rounder Kelvin Scott and Cambridge all-rounder Simon Dodds.
Auckland's Neil Ronaldson (one of the leading wicket-takers at the 2020 World Cup), Askew, and Dodds will be the main seam bowlers, with support from all-rounders Petrie, Scott and McHardy. The spinners will be led by the veteran Nuttall, with support from Sears and Somani. Robinson will share the keeping duties with Northland rep Bert Horner.
Overall, it is a well-rounded squad with some exciting batting all the way down the order.
This will be the GreyCaps first international cricket since the 2020 Over-50s World Cup in Cape Town, which was abandoned half way through due to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. All of the players are very excited about the opportunity to play international cricket again after two frustrating seasons.
The hosts, Australia, have picked a very strong side as well. Most of their squad played in the 2020 World Cup, including ex-ACT batsman Peter Solway, who is one of the top players at international over-50s level. Also watch out for first-grade legend Tony Clark, swing bowler Phillip Melville, and off-spinner Steve Gollan.
Sri Lanka will be something of an unknown quantity. Their lineup includes ex-internationals Marlon von Hagt and Sanjeewa Weerasinghe, plus a number of exciting newcomers. Expect some entertaining cricket from the Sri Lankans.
The first match is on Sunday, July 3, when New Zealand plays Australia. There are matches every day (starting at 10 a.m. local time, which is 8 a.m. NZT) until the final on July 9. All matches will be live-streamed, and also live-scored on CricHQ. For details, please follow the New Zealand Over-50s Facebook page.
