Bats to belt cash into stand

Ross Taylor

Cricket aficionados are set to have a ball at the fundraising event for the upgrade and extension of the grandstand at Masterton's Queen Elizabeth Park.

The event, at which former Black Caps captain and coach John Wright will be guest speaker, will be held in the Masterton Town Hall next Wednesday, February 19.

Bidding should be spirited, to say the least, during an auction at the function.

With the help of Black Caps squad member and former Wairarapa College pupil Ross Taylor, some of the greats of the cricketing world have lent their support to a scheme which will see the grandstand given a makeover expected to cost about $360,000.

A Grandstand Facelift committee chaired by Craig McBride was formed by the Wairarapa Cricket Association and the "Evening With John Wright" fundraiser is its initial effort to raise the $60,000 it has pledged towards the project.

McBride said Taylor had been an "absolute star" in coercing members of the present Indian and New Zealand squads to sign several bats which will go under the hammer.

Three of the bats - all of which are new and of high quality - have individual signatures, those of Indian skipper MS Dhoni and his team's starbatsman Virat Kholi, and Black Caps captain Brendon McCallum, scorer of a double century in the first test which ended with a famous New Zealand victory in Auckland's Eden Park at the weekend.

Another bat has been signed by three other Black Caps stars, Taylor, Kane Williamson and Corey Anderson, world record-holder for the fastest ODI hundred. A fifth was signed by the New Zealand players immediately after they had white-washed India 4-0 in the ODI series and a sixth has been signed by the squads from the Auckland test.

Also up for auction will be a Black Caps ODI shirt signed by Taylor, playing gear from the Indian Premier league champions Mumbai Indians, who just happen to be coached by Wright, a shirt signed by the Black Caps test squad and non-cricketing items such as a holiday weekend at Castlepoint, a romantic getaway at Copthorne, a VB fridge and a barbecue.

Tickets for the February 19 function can be bought from the Wairarapa Cricket Association, $30 for adults and $10 for under-18s.