THE curious case of the Englishman who became an Australian cricketer has added another chapter, this time in form of World Cup selection.
Sunraysia Cricket Association great Richie Wyld has earned another international call-up as part of the 16-man squad for the International Masters Cricket Over-40s Cricket World Cup in South Africa in February.
The three-time Innes Medal winner and multiple-time Setts premiership player first earned the honour of wearing the over-40s Baggy Green when he competed in the first ever Trans-Tasman series in New Zealand in February.
Wyld, 41, who grew up in Nottingham and played Notts Country second XI cricket before heading to Sunraysia, admits the concept of playing for Australia is still strange but it’s an opportunity he’s ready to take with both hands.
“It’s certainly still weird,” he laughed.
“Obviously I made the decision to shift over here and make Australia my home so while I still consider myself English, being able to represent the country you live in is a great privilege.
“Playing in New Zealand was really good, especially being the first time international had been played for the Over 40s, but getting the chance to represent the country you live in at a World Cup is amazing.”
It won’t be the first time Wyld has competed in a World Cup in Cape Town. He represented his home nation in the Indoor Cricket World Cup in 2000 in the same location.
“I would have been 17 at the time and only played one match alongside a few warm-up games so hopefully I get the chance to contribute a bit more in this one,” he said.
Australia feature in Group A alongside England, USA, Canada, Zimbabwe and Namibia, while Group B consists of South Africa, India, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Wales and UAE.
After five rounds, with matches beginning on February 19, the top two teams from each group qualify for the semi-finals before the final two teams meet in the decider on March 1.
“There’s going to be a lot of good players involved,” Wyld said.
“For us, we have a number of ex-first-class cricketers while in some of the other squads named, there’s ex-internationals as well as first-class players. A few guys in the England squad I actually played against when I was coming through the ranks, and one I actually played with, so that’s going to be interesting.”
Wyld has represented South Australia in the past two over-40 national cricket carnivals and played a solid role for the side who finished third in the November tournament, alongside club mate Mark Cleary and Nichols Point’s Shaun Mathews.
The all-rounder’s campaign saw him make 104 runs and take four wickets in four games.
“I got starts in three of the four innings and bowled okay without taking too many wickets,” he said.
“I’m a bit disappointed I didn’t get any bigger scores but I think my form from the previous carnival and my efforts in the New Zealand tour gave me a few extra credits.”
