NZ Over 60's In Adelaide 2-7 November 2019
A NZ squad of 25 players, 2 managers and 11 supporters attended the recent Veterans Cricket Australia National Championships for Over 60s, held in Adelaide from 2 to 7 November. NZ entered 2 teams and competed in divisions 1 & 3 of the 4 division tournament.
This was the first time a NZ team was eligible to compete in division 1, having won the division 2 title in 2018. Each division was split into 2 sections of 4. The 4 teams in each section playing a round-robin on the first 3 days, the 2 section winners then playing off in the final on the 4th day. In division 1, the NZ1 team, captained by John Cushen (Otago), found the going much more challenging than last year, winning just 1 of their first three games, then losing the 5th/6th place play-off on the last day.
NZ2, captained by Garry Webb (Northern Districts), were far more successful, winning their first 3 matches and qualifying for the final for the 2nd year running. A close loss to NSW in last year’s final was turned around this year, with the kiwis beating Victoria by 2 wickets and earning promotion to division 2 for the 2020 tournament.
Best performed in the NZ1 side was Andrew Nuttall (Canterbury) who scored 101 runs at an average of 25.3 and took 7 wickets, average 7 runs per wicket. Bevan Guthrie (Otago) scored 88 runs at 44.0 and Danny Langrope (Canterbury) took 7 wickets at 15.4. Graeme Inglis (Canterbury) recorded the highest individual score for NZ1, with 50 not out in the final day play-off.
NZ2 opening batsmen Rod Smith (Auckland) and Gordon Kuggeleijn (Central Districts) got their side off to great starts, running well between the wickets and scoring at a good rate. They shared partnerships of; 73, 76, 9 and 58. Smith scored 121 runs at 60.5 and Kuggeleijn 145 at 72.5. Jeremy Wilson (Canterbury) scored 98 runs and wasn’t dismissed in any of his 3 innings. Rob Craig (Northern Districts) totalled 73 at an average of 24.3 and Hugh Wright (Canterbury) 60 at 30.0. Tony Gray played 3 matches for NZ2 and 1 for the NZ1 side. He took 5 wickets at an average of 19.8. Spinner Kevin Goldsbury opened the bowling for NZ2 in all 4 matches. He bowled very tightly throughout the week, finishing with 3 wickets and conceding just 3.2 runs per over.
On Friday 8 November, a NZ side, comprising 7 players who played for NZ1 throughout the week and 5 of those who’d been part of the winning NZ2 team, took on the touring England Seniors in a rain affected limited overs match. NZ captain Andrew Nuttall won the toss and asked England to bat. While the tourists were ‘kept in check’ early, they accelerated towards the end of their innings and recorded 202 for 3 from their 40 overs. NZ were given a sound start by Smith and Kuggeleijn, 22 for the 1st wicket, but lost wickets regularly from then on to be 95 for 8 after 32 overs. The lower order, in particular Guthrie and Hamish Wright (Canterbury), gained a little respectability for NZ with some attacking batting towards the end. NZ finished their 40 overs on 141 for 9, losing by 61 runs. Hamish Wright was the best performed of the kiwis in this ‘test’ match, top-scoring with 32 not out and claiming 2 of the 3 England wickets to fall.
Grant Baker
This was the first time a NZ team was eligible to compete in division 1, having won the division 2 title in 2018. Each division was split into 2 sections of 4. The 4 teams in each section playing a round-robin on the first 3 days, the 2 section winners then playing off in the final on the 4th day. In division 1, the NZ1 team, captained by John Cushen (Otago), found the going much more challenging than last year, winning just 1 of their first three games, then losing the 5th/6th place play-off on the last day.
NZ2, captained by Garry Webb (Northern Districts), were far more successful, winning their first 3 matches and qualifying for the final for the 2nd year running. A close loss to NSW in last year’s final was turned around this year, with the kiwis beating Victoria by 2 wickets and earning promotion to division 2 for the 2020 tournament.
Best performed in the NZ1 side was Andrew Nuttall (Canterbury) who scored 101 runs at an average of 25.3 and took 7 wickets, average 7 runs per wicket. Bevan Guthrie (Otago) scored 88 runs at 44.0 and Danny Langrope (Canterbury) took 7 wickets at 15.4. Graeme Inglis (Canterbury) recorded the highest individual score for NZ1, with 50 not out in the final day play-off.
NZ2 opening batsmen Rod Smith (Auckland) and Gordon Kuggeleijn (Central Districts) got their side off to great starts, running well between the wickets and scoring at a good rate. They shared partnerships of; 73, 76, 9 and 58. Smith scored 121 runs at 60.5 and Kuggeleijn 145 at 72.5. Jeremy Wilson (Canterbury) scored 98 runs and wasn’t dismissed in any of his 3 innings. Rob Craig (Northern Districts) totalled 73 at an average of 24.3 and Hugh Wright (Canterbury) 60 at 30.0. Tony Gray played 3 matches for NZ2 and 1 for the NZ1 side. He took 5 wickets at an average of 19.8. Spinner Kevin Goldsbury opened the bowling for NZ2 in all 4 matches. He bowled very tightly throughout the week, finishing with 3 wickets and conceding just 3.2 runs per over.
On Friday 8 November, a NZ side, comprising 7 players who played for NZ1 throughout the week and 5 of those who’d been part of the winning NZ2 team, took on the touring England Seniors in a rain affected limited overs match. NZ captain Andrew Nuttall won the toss and asked England to bat. While the tourists were ‘kept in check’ early, they accelerated towards the end of their innings and recorded 202 for 3 from their 40 overs. NZ were given a sound start by Smith and Kuggeleijn, 22 for the 1st wicket, but lost wickets regularly from then on to be 95 for 8 after 32 overs. The lower order, in particular Guthrie and Hamish Wright (Canterbury), gained a little respectability for NZ with some attacking batting towards the end. NZ finished their 40 overs on 141 for 9, losing by 61 runs. Hamish Wright was the best performed of the kiwis in this ‘test’ match, top-scoring with 32 not out and claiming 2 of the 3 England wickets to fall.
Grant Baker