THE friendly rivalry between Australia and New Zealand has been extended to the Sunraysia region, with the Kiwis jumping at the chance to cross the ditch and compete at The Spirit of Cricket Festivale.
New Zealand bowler Richard Petrie said being part of the tournament had been an incredible experience.
“It’s great that there is a regular stream of international tournaments for people over 50, which never used to be available, especially in New Zealand,” he said.
“The players might be over 50, but they still have performance pride, and no one wants to go out and not be the best.
“You go through the stage where you stop playing, then you start to go and watch your kids’ sport on the sidelines, and it’s always good to watch your kids play, but you’d rather be playing yourself.
“It’s really good because it has given many people, like me and the other guys, a new lease on life.”
Petrie is a former New Zealand international cricketer, so playing on the world stage is nothing new to him, however he said he never expected to be throwing fast balls at this stage of his life.
“It’s a bit weird because I never thought I would be playing at this age, let alone competitively,” he said
“We were sitting around dinner the other day and laughing that we’ve got to get our gear on again before going off to another international tournament.
“All the teams get along, and all know each other reasonably well and it’s all just great fun.”
Their first tussle with their old rival on enemy territory didn’t go to plan when beaten by the Aussies by 50 runs at Wentworth on Friday.
