Hawke’s Bay (New Zealand), Feb 27 (IANS) On the sidelines of the World Cup, former cricket greats Jeff Thomson and his old “foe” Martin Crowe teamed up for a friendly match – The Legends of Cricket Art Deco – at the picturesque green oval here.
The Twenty20 game saw cricketers stepping back into a bygone era as the locals – Clifton County Cricket Club XI – took on the World Invitational XI with both teams attired in kits from the 1930s and swinging handcrafted locally made bats.
The World Invitational XI was captained by Australia’s Thomson, one of the fastest bowlers of all time, and his team included former England captain Adam Hollioake and New Zealanders Chris Harris, Evan Gray and Ervin McSweeney.
The host side, captained by Hawke’s Bay local hero Mark Greatbatch, included Dion Nash, Mathew Sinclair and New Zealand woman cricketer Nicola Browne, supported by Clifton club members.
While it was the hosts who won the match, the experience was enhanced with fine regional food, wine and brews.
The match was scheduled to take place at the end of Napier’s Art Deco Weekend — a quirky and vibrant annual celebration of the city’s outstanding architectural heritage from the 1930s — and the long term plan is to make it a regular fixture.
This time round, it was the opportunity for Art Deco revellers to enjoy extended celebrations and get into the swing of the World Cup.
It has been 23 years since New Zealand last hosted the World Cup along with Australia in 1992. Napier will host three matches during the quadrennial event — Pakistan vs UAE (March 4), New Zealand vs Afghanistan (March 8) and West Indies vs UAE (March 15).