Masters cricket in the Waikato a big hit
They hail from rural Waikato with nicknames such as the Geyserland Googlies, Cambridge Antiques and the Limestone Cowboys.
Masters cricket is their game and they’re part of a global movement marking record participation in the sport from people over the age of 40.
In the Waikato there are about 12 teams playing in an unofficial over-40s competition during the summer.
Among them is Garry Webb and his team, Cambridge Antiques, named after the senior age of its players.
‘‘Yes, the team is of the older generation you could say. Cambridge is known as the town of trees but there also use to be a lot of antique shops so the team’s name is a combination of those two ideas.’’
The team has about 30 to 40 members, aged from 40 to 70 years old. Some have played representative cricket but most have not come through formal cricket ranks and just want to play the game.
The Cambridge team has been playing in the since 1991.
Recently Webb was among other players and coaches from the over 40s competition that met with Sport Waikato and Northern Districts Cricket.
The organisations are offering the teams help in the hope of developing the age group further. It could eventually mean selection of a Northern Districts masters team, and later on a NZ masters team to play internationally.
The ideas discussed included setting up a masters competition, a central database of players and support over for 40s Northern Districts representative teams.
‘‘It was a good meeting but what I think we have to be careful about is making the competition too competitive. Then we might see a lot of people drop off. We want to be in a position where we can give people a chance to get involved in the sport,’’ Webb said.
Community cricket officer for Sport Waikato, Cliff Dickeson, said over 40s cricket was increasing in popularity, particularly in England and Australia. Dickeson, who is also Northern Districts spin bowling coach, aims to develop interest in the masters age group and connect teams with an organised competition, if that’s what teams wanted.