Cricket: Taranaki cricketers off to India

Ian Snook

The New Zealand over 60’s side heads off to the World Cup in Chennai, India, on February 15.

Packing their bags will be local players Roger Stachurski (pictured left) and Craig Morris from the Marist club; Greg Alexander and Steve Cunningham (pictured right) from the Inglewood club, and Oakura representative Greg Shearer.

Seeded second following their runner-up position to Pakistan in Australia two years back, the team will follow their warm-up against Wales with competition games against England, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Rest of the World, USA and Canada.

The team will be aiming to be placed in the top two in the pool so that their crossover game will be a semi-final before the ultimate goal of playing in, and winning, the world cup final.

The other pool contains Australia, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Wales and Bangladesh.

The Welsh match will be played on February 16, the clash against England is set for the 19th, with the remaining five pool games over by the 29th, before playing the crossover game and the final by the 2nd March. That’s nine games in 16 days in weather where they can expect temperatures in the 30’s in the shade.

The squad has recently been added to, to take the number travelling to 17, no doubt with the big workload in the heat being taken into account. Even manager Steve Cunningham will no doubt have his time wearing the whites.

Team selection comes about following a national tournament, the last one played in Napier. From this tournament four teams are selected to play in the Australian Championships and the squad is confirmed for the World Cup.

Roger Stachurski, winner of the bowling trophy in the previous tournament in Australia, will again be a leading figure. He will be supported by left arm spinner Andrew Nuttal, a former first-class player for Canterbury. These two, along with speedster Dean Askew, who has turned out for both Central Districts and Auckland, could well be the catalysts for another top finish.

Central Districts were runners-up at the previous Over 60’s national tournament which propelled Morris, not only a fielding dynamo, but a consistent batsman, and Alexander, who scored crucial runs and took vital wickets, into the national side.

Stachurski was already a certainty, whilst the squad were looking for a reliable medium pacer who would prove difficult to score against in naming Shearer. Cunningham, also a talented all-rounder, was shoulder tapped to do the managers job, which he has stepped into with aplomb.

This is no NZC sponsored trip however. All the players pay their own way. At a guess it would be a $10,000, three-week journey, to the most cricket crazy country in existence. What an experience this will be.

Joining the Taranaki boys will be wives Rebecca Cunningham, Sonya Stachurski, Carolyn Alexander and Tracy Morris. The wives committee is already set up and in operation so there will be plenty to do. With Chennai boasting the second longest beach in the world, many street markets, temples, museums and parks it will be a matter of what to do next.

Taranaki can feel justifiably proud to have five personnel in this squad. Not since the halcyon days of Taranaki rugby in the 60’s can the province boast such a depth of talent in one sport, even though it is at this age.

The local public can view the touring party playing an Invitation XI at Pukekura Park on Saturday 3rd February.

Following that game, it will be down to the serious business of touring.