Non-striking Australia batsman Eric Higgins backs up as New Zealand player Gordon Kuggeleijn rolls his arm at Clifton Country Cricket Park in Te Awanga yesterday. Photo/Duncan Brown
Non-striking Australia batsman Eric Higgins backs up as New Zealand player Gordon Kuggeleijn rolls his arm at Clifton Country Cricket Park in Te Awanga yesterday. Photo/Duncan Brown
They don't come for a tour of New Zealand just for the kicks — the Ockers come to conquer despite the glorious Hawke's Bay weather.
That's exactly what the Australia Over-60 men's cricket team did when they trounced their Kiwi counterparts by 153 runs in Hastings yesterday.
"We don't come all this way to go back with our tails between our legs, you know, because that's the way Australians play the game and so do the Kiwis," said Aussie skipper Greg Quinn in that unmistakable twang after the hosts won the toss and elected to inject the tourists at the picturesque Clifton Country Cricket Club ground in the 45-over affair in Te Awanga from 11am.
"We do like to win and we do like to chirp," Quinn said with laugh, revealing two of the Peter Nixon-captained Kiwi batsmen were running between the wickets when one complained to his teammate he couldn't hear his calls.
"His partner turned around and said to him, 'You can't hear me but I can hear these Aussies behind the wickets'," the jovial 64-year-old city council employee from Adelaide said.
However, Quinn championed the spirit and good fellowship in which the sides have and aim to play the remaining two matches.
Said Nixon with a chuckle: "You could tell when they were getting on top. They got a little bit louder, you know, typical Aussies."
No doubt the venue was a "unique" experience for them, considering "there's so much community influence" on the ground and had won the respect of the "locals".
Quinn said they had purposely picked a potent line up of batsmen and bowlers, with left/right combinations, to ensure there were no chinks in the armour.
It is something they would tweak again against their rivals in another 45-over game at Matapihi ground at Mt Maunganui from 11am tomorrow before the third and final 50-over "test match" at the University CC Merton Rd, Glenn Innes, venue on Sunday.
"Our aggressive batting, at the moment, seems to be working okay and did quite well in this game so that was a major factor for our win."
Describing the Clifton wicket as "interesting", Quinn said they had played on "low and slow" strips before arriving here but found the Queenstown one, for the opening 50-over "test", a nice one.
"I thought our boys batted quite well yesterday because Australians like the ball coming on with a bit of pace on the wicket so I was pretty proud of the way the boys had adapted."
He revealed they had swapped their Nos 5-8 batsmen to the top four, respectively, because they were a little underdone in the middle.
Opening batsmen Simon Lyon, of Sydney, and left hander Paul McDonald, of Melbourne, made 40 runs retired before Murray Harrison, of Canberra, emulated their feat at first drop while No 6 Glen Richardson was run out on 29 as they posted 222-3.
Gavin Chatfield, the younger brother of former Kiwi international Ewen, was the only wicket taker (1-40) while Kevin Goldsbury, of Wellington, was the most frugal at 0-26 from nine overs, including two maidens.
While they were familiar with each other as players because of their state championship across the ditch, Quinn said they had five debutants in their mix and didn't have much time to gel before their trip in New Zealand although three of them had been together since 2015.
"We had to get to know each other very quickly after we had a couple of days sessions before we played our first test."
The agility of the Aussies on the field didn't miss the attention of Nixon and his troops either.
He said the Kiwis were relatively newer to the over-60s scene than their rivals.
"The Aussies are just more efficient and more cutthroat, I guess," said the 66-year-old IT consultant who does contract programming in Auckland although he lived in the Bay and played for Napier Old Boys' Marist for 12 years.
New Zealand Over-60s wicketkeeper Kim Whittington watches as Australia batsman Pat Henry scores for an unbeaten 12 at Clifton Country Cricket Park yesterday. Photo/Duncan Brown
Australia skittled the Kiwis for 69 runs with opener Dave Harle, of Wellington, and first drop Gordon Kuggeleijn, of Central Districts, the only ones to score double figures — 25 and 22, respectively — among four who posted ducks.
Queensland left-arm medium pacer Michael Frame claimed 4-8 from seven overs, including two maidens. Fellow at first change, Rob Henry, a left-arm orthodox spinner from Perth, took 3-26 and second-change merchant Kevin Lanigan, a right-arm off spinner from Victoria, claimed 2-5 to shut up the Kiwi shop.
"We've just got to, yeah, harden up," said Nixon although he felt his bowlers stood up.
"We'll get there but we're still new at the game, I suppose."
Frustratingly the Kiwis threw their wickets away, he said, rather than the Aussies claiming them.
"They [Aussies] don't play like that. They make you earn their wicket."
Nixon said the tourists' mental fortitude was on a different plane so it was imperative for the Kiwis to adjust theirs smartly before the Sunday "test" breaker, as they sit 1-all in the three-match series, after winning in Queenstown but losing in Wellington last Sunday.
"Most of us preferred to play on grass so it probably suited the Aussies who had a couple of spinners who got quite a lot of bounce at one end."
He said a few players from Christchurch would arrive for the Sunday match to bolster their ranks.
"Let's see if we can injure a few of them [Aussies tomorrow]," he said, mindful the visitors were grappling with their injury demons.
Nixon said he was told the Aussies had more than 600 over-60s players back home whereas the Kiwis' annual tourney at Petone was in a four-year fledgling state.
