Louisa Wall: It's now or never for Goldie

I was in Hamilton the day Jeff Wilson scored the winning runs for the Black Caps in their one-day international against Australia. That was 12 years ago and I was a proud and very vocal scarfie.

Wilson was only 19 and he smashed 44 runs off 28 balls to propel the Black Caps to a final-over victory against undoubtedly the best cricket nation on the planet. I was ecstatic and I am sure we all long for repeat performances against the World XI and Australians.

He was inspirational and was the toast of the town if not the country that day. Goldie had arrived but his rugby career was just starting to explode and so he committed himself to the All Blacks instead. And what a record he has in that code. He made his test rugby debut against Scotland in Edinburgh later in 1993 and scored three tries and converted a try from the sideline.

Wilson ended his All Black career as a 60-test veteran who had scored 44 tries, 1 conversion, 3 penalties and a drop goal - amassing 234 test points. I was also there to watch his final game in 2001 when we played South Africa at Eden Park - another victory against our rivals.

When he announced his retirement from all levels of rugby in May 2002, and was bold enough to proclaim his desire to play international cricket once more, it was only a matter of time before he got his opportunity. He has said he has been working towards Black Caps selection and so it is now or never to stake a claim.

He has toiled hard since his rugby retirement. We'd hear snippets of his cricketing progress and it seems now he has been given an extraordinary opportunity by coach John Bracewell and the Black Cap selectors.

Maybe they have looked to his past to see if he has what it takes today to play professional cricket.

He has had to prove himself after time on the sidelines. He obviously has the mental aptitude for international competition which no doubt helped to tip the scales of selection in his favour.

The tsunami-instigated three-game series against a World XI does not carry official one-day international status so Wilson will not add to his four caps.

But his selection will provide the answer to a question that not only NZ Cricket but also the sporting public has been fascinated by. That is, has Wilson still got what it takes to be an international cricketer and fulfil the potential that we saw fleetingly so many years ago?

I've a feeling that all will be revealed during this series.

If he fails, what has NZ Cricket lost?

They have not given away hard-earned international caps and the other players should view these matches in the spirit in which they are being played.

If he succeeds then wouldn't that be a wonderful thing for us all.

I hope Wilson has not been thrown a hospital pass, but from memory, the only passes I recall him catching he scored from.

* Louisa Wall is a former New Zealand rugby and netball representative