Cricket in Canterbury is steeped in history and tradition and now there is a place for that to be celebrated.
Earlier this week Canterbury Cricket launched the first stage of its Hall of Fame at its Christchurch headquarters with an array of photos of their Men’s New Zealand Representative players and honours boards.
Although the Hall of Fame was only revealed this week, it has been 20 years in the making and was the brain child of Canterbury Cricket stalwart Brian Adams.
The idea to collect data, statistics and photos came from watching golf. “I was watching the Masters’ golf tournament and every year it is played at the same golf course which is surrounded by tradition and history,” Brian said. “We didn’t have anything like that so I started going through newspapers, the library and museum to find information and photographs.”
Adams is passionate about cricket and about the Canterbury province and he wanted to ensure Canterbury Cricket were leaders when it came to celebrating the tradition and history of the game within the region. “There is a lot of history and tradition in Canterbury that hasn’t been acknowledged and we haven’t had a place to show it. The Hall of Fame is going to be great for young players coming through to see and give them a sense of pride playing for Canterbury.”
Former double international and Canterbury cricket representative Sam Guillen was also part of the celebrations on Monday night. Sam was the oldest attendee to the evening and, at the age of 85.
He played international cricket for both the West Indies and New Zealand and was part of the history-making first New Zealand team to win a Test match in 1956. He was chosen to pull back the curtain to reveal the first set of photos mounted on the wall. “It was a great evening and I got to meet all the chaps,” he said. “We had a good time. We reminisced and had a laugh and shared old stories.”
Canterbury Cricket CEO Lee Germon was delighted to have so many current and former players present to celebrate the history behind Canterbury Cricket. “A highlight was seeing our great players renewing or starting friendships with each other as well as seeing young boys and girls appreciating the successes of our past and having the chance to rub shoulders with some of our great players.
“The vision of Canterbury Cricket is ‘respecting our past, driving the future’,” Germon said. “We have an enormous amount to be very proud of as part of the rich history of cricket in Canterbury. This was an opportunity for Canterbury Cricket to acknowledge those players who have not only represented our great province with pride and skill but also worn the silver fern.”
BLACKCAPS Shane Bond, Chris Martin and New Zealand Cricket General Manager Geoff Allott were part of the celebrations as well as the Canterbury Wizards squad and a number of Canterbury Magician players.
The next step is to recognise women’s players, administrators and acknowledge records and statistics for grounds in the region.
* Canterbury Cricket would like to thank The Christchurch Star newspaper for their support with the Hall of Fame.
