Christchurch is all set to play host to the International Over 40s cricket being played with New Zealand, Australia, and New Zealand A in February this year.
While NZ has been playing Over 50s Internationals, Over-40s cricket is new. This will be the first-ever international over-40s series to be played in New Zealand.
Over 40s / Over 50s cricket, also known as seniors or veterans cricket, is a form of sport specifically for individuals over the age of 40(or 50). This type of cricket has gained popularity over the last decade as it allows individuals who may have retired from competitive cricket or who may not have had the opportunity to play in their younger years to continue to participate in the sport.
The NZ Over 40 team has been selected following a national selection tournament. The team includes three players with international experience: Hamish Marshall, James Marshall (a former Blackcap) and Peter Connell(who has played for Ireland).
After this series which will be played from 19 February to 24 February in Hagley Christchurch and Rangiora, the NZ squad will be named for the first-ever Over-40s World Cup to be held in Pakistan in September/October of this year with 14 teams.
Indian Weekender spoke to Jim Morrison, Director of NZ Over-40s and Over-50s Cricket. Besides establishing both age groups, Morrison is also the Over-50s representative on the International Masters Cricket Committee(the equivalent of the ICC for masters/veterans cricket).
"We aim to win an Over-40s or Over-50s World Cup. We also want to raise the standard of play in our national tournament to help improve the NZ team. It is important to note that this is serious, competitive cricket. It is not 'social' or 'golden oldies' cricket, although it does have a social element. The standard of play is very high, and we are looking for players who are currently playing (or capable of playing) premier or Div 1 cricket, at least," shares Morrison.
"The Over 40 team this year also has three Kiwi-Indian players who have played first-class cricket in India before moving to NZ. Deepak Joon has played for Haryana and Wellington, Hardeep Singh played for Jammu & Kashmir before moving to Christchurch while Vishal Dubey has extensive experience of playing in India and NZ.
Deepak Joon
Hardeep Singh
Vishal Dubey
Entry is free, and Morrison wants the community to come out to encourage the team and provide strong vocal support.
For those who cannot attend in person, all matches will be live-streamed and live-scored. Cricket lovers and supporters can 'Like' and 'Follow' the Facebook pages at https://www.facebook.com/nzover40scricket) and https://www.facebook.com/nz050s, where all the scores, live-streaming links, match reports, and other information will be provided.
Morrison is also urging sponsors to come forward so that players don't have to shoulder all the financial burden while representing their country.
"Because everything is self-funded, we are greatly in need of sponsorship. This represents a fantastic opportunity for a local or international company to partner with NZ Over-40s and/or Over-50s and there are lots of ways to make this a mutually beneficial arrangement."
Anyone interested can email at over50sworldcup@gmail.com
Over-50s cricket
While over-40s cricket is relatively new worldwide, with only Pakistan having a significant history in it, over-50s cricket has been played internationally for around 6 years now. There have been around 100 over-50s internationals (O50Is) played around the world.
Some countries have extensive over-50s set-ups. For example, the Australian National Championships had more than 40 teams involved. England has thousands of over-50s players, as does Pakistan. Other countries (such as UAE) are only starting their over-50s programmes.
The first Over-50s World Cup was held in Sydney in 2018 (won by Australia; NZ made the semi-finals; India didn't enter a team). The second was held in Cape Town, South Africa in March of 2020, but was cancelled halfway through because of COVID.
The 3rd O50s World Cup starts in March of this year, in Cape Town again with 14 teams competing. The favourites are South Africa, England, Pakistan, Australia and NZ.