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Delay-free Wahs commentary HERENZ Cricket names first class of inductees to new Hall of Fame
Sport Nation • December 5th, 2024 5:30 pm
Photo: Photosport
NZ Cricket has announced the inaugural inductees to its new Hall of Fame.
The group features eleven foundation members whose playing careers span an era from 1947 to 2016.
Named to the 'First Eleven' are: Bert Sutcliffe, John Reid, Jackie Lord, Trish McKelvey, Glenn Turner, Sir Richard Hadlee, Debbie Hockley, Martin Crowe, Emily Drumm, Daniel Vettori, and Brendon McCullum.
Each player will be honoured with an exhibit at the New Zealand Cricket Museum in Wellington.
Eligibility rules require inductees to have played for New Zealand and to have been retired for at least five years, with criteria weighted in favour of performance, leadership and influence. A softer guideline was that players recognised should be of world-class stature in their prime, good enough to be picked in a theoretical World XI.
A shortlist was researched and compiled by cricket historian, statistician and author Francis Payne, then reviewed by NZ women's cricket historian and author, Trevor Auger, Murdoch, and the NZCPA.
Basin Reserve looks a picture ahead of Blackcaps v England second Test
"The first intake is always the most straight-forward as it includes some players who essentially pick themselves, they stand out that much," said Payne.
"However, even in this phase there’ll still be discussions and debates about who should or should not be there - and that’s almost the point of the exercise, to keep the stories of New Zealand’s greatest players alive."
Payne said there were clearly other players, both men and women, who were worthy of membership and stressed there would be opportunities to add to the foundation members on an annual basis.
"This is very much a living tribute with new players being added each year."
The foundation inductees will be celebrated on the field during the lunch break on day one of the second Test between the Blackcaps and England at the Basin Reserve.
Sport Nation has live ball-by-ball commentary of all three Test matches between the Blackcaps and England - available on all NZ frequencies and the new Sport Nation app - available on App Store and Google Play.
