He said that as far as he was the concerned, the Cricket World Cup had already been a success because of "cake tin massacre" in which New Zealand had thrashed the English, Mr Abbott said he felt a bit of a fraud talking at cricket functions because when he was 12 years old he tried out and coach sent him straight down the rowing sheds.
"In England some years later, I did become a cricketer because it was the only way in those days in England to get a drink between 2 o'clock and 5 o'clock in the afternoon when the pub was shut.
"I couldn't bat, I couldn't bowl and I couldn't field but by God, I could sledge," he said.
"It has helped me from time to time in my current life - but not always."
He recalled a political meeting many years ago when he said in answer to a question: "I'm in two minds about that.
"He must have been a cricketer when he shot back 'that's hard when you've only got half a brain'."
The official party comprised the two Prime Ministers, New Zealand cricket legend Martin Crowe, Australian cricket legend Allan Border, and the two current captains, Brendon McCullum from New Zealand and Michael Clarke.
The dinner was attended by about 750 people and the transtasman menu, designed by celebrity chef Sean Connelly, included Canterbury lamb, prawns from Mooloolaba, Queensland, whitebait from the Haast River, grain-fed Bindaree eye filet steak from northern New South Wales, grain-fed Wagyu short rib and brisket also from northern New South Wales, line-caught snapper from Leigh, north of Auckland, kiwifruit from Hawkes Bay, strawberries from Kumeu, West Auckland, and mango from Queensland.
