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Three Kaipara Flats cricketers will head to Christchurch next month to play in a five-day tournament between New Zealand and Australia.
Brothers Hamish and James Marshall will play in the 14-man NZ squad, while Byron Jollivet has been selected for the 12-man NZ ‘A’ side.
It is understood these will be the first official international over-40s matches in the world.
The teams were announced after a district tournament in Marlborough, where Jollivet scored a century in Northland’s game against Christchurch/Otago.
He says he was happy just to be selected in the district team, so to make the NZ ‘A’ team was humbling.
He has been playing for Kaipara Flats for about five years, where his 16-year-old son Connor is also a member.
Both Hamish and James are former Black Caps, while a number of the other members of the NZ Squad are NZ indoor reps or former first class cricketers.
James says the over 40s players share a love of the game and many played against one another 20 years ago.
“It’s pretty cool to play with guys who are from the same era,” James says. “The standard of play is pretty decent, too.”
He says that what the players lack in speed and agility is more than made up for with experience and gamesmanship.
The NZ team to play in the Over 40s World Cup in Pakistan later this year will be announced after the February matches.
