WOMENS CRICKET Festival Week To Celebrate New Zealand Council Jubilee

Press, Volume XCVIII, Issue 29068, 3 December 1959, Page 19

WOMENS CRICKET Festival Week To Celebrate New Zealand Council Jubilee

(Now Zeaiana Pr«n Association)

WELLINGTON, December 2. New Zealand women’s cricket will celebrate its twenty-fifth jubilee with a festival cricket week in Wellington from December 30 to January 6. The celebrations will be held at Kilbirnie Park, with Friday, January 1, kept free for an “oldtimers’” match at the Prince of Wales Park, headquarters of the game in Wellington. Past players from other districts have intimated that they will be available, but all players of every generation who can possibly be in Wellington for the New Year period are welcome to take part in the celebrations.

Although women’s cricket was played in various parts of New

Zealand in the late 1920'5, it was not till 1934 that the New Zealand Women's Cricket Council was formed in Christchurch. This was achieved mainly through the 1935 touring English women's team wishing to extend its Australian tour to New Zealand. So a national controlling body became a necessity. From that day on, the game has spread to Auckland, Matamata, Hamilton, Wanganui, Wellington. Christchurch, Nelson, Dunedin and Invercargill. It is also played in many secondary schools throughout the country. Representative New Zealand teams have travelled to New South Wales in 1938, England (1954) and Australia (1956). Overseas teams have visited New Zealand from England, in 1935, 1948, and 1958 and Australia in 1948.

The cricket week draw is: December 30-31, Auckland v. Canterbury, Kilbirnie 1; Wellington v. Otago, Kilbirnie 2. January 2-4, Auckland v. Wellington, Kilbirnie 1; Canterbury v. Otago, Kilbirnie 2. January 5-6, Otago v. Auckland, Kilbirnie 1; Wellington v. Canterbury, Kilbirnie 2.