Local cricket identity picked for national masters

A Wangaratta cricketing mainstay has been chosen to represent his country as part of Cricket Australia Masters’ Over 65 squad. Former WDCA player, umpire coordinator and president Michael Hurley has been named in the O65 Australia squad for a quad-series in Maroochydoore in June 2026. Hurley was named in the 14-man squad who will compete against New Zealand, Sri Lanka, and an Australia A side across 8-12 June, with lead-up games against England O70 and Australia O70 in Adelaide in February. Hurley’s name was thrown into the mix off the back of a successful stint for Queensland in the Over 65 Cricket Nationals, recently held in Christchurch, as well as the domestic over 60s cricket in Queensland. Over in New Zealand, Hurley and Queensland took out the division one national competition over Victoria in the final, with Hurley taking three wickets in the decider while also putting the brakes on opposition scoring, conceding less than two runs an over from his nine overs. Hurley said he was privileged to be selected for national duties. “It is a huge honour to be selected to play for Australia,” he said. “It is something that I have been striving towards since starting out in veterans.” He puts his longevity in the game to being relatively fit and likes the social aspect of meeting “other cricketing nuts.” “I’ve played the past five seasons up in Queensland with a reasonable amount of success, winning the Geoff Dymock Shield in 2021 and 2023, both seasons undefeated, and again this year,” he said. “The interesting part about playing up there in the veterans competition is you never know who you are going to be playing either with of against. “There are a couple of ex-state cricketers still playing there. “The lads up there have a funny story to tell about an ex-Australian player – apparently, he played in two matches for a first ball duck, followed by a second ball duck and wasn’t seen again.” There is a strong possibility that Hurley will form an Australian opening bowling partnership with media personality and ex-Wangaratta resident Ross Greenwood. Greenwood, who resides now in Sydney, also had a very impressive Nationals campaign, playing with New South Wales to secure a spot in the Australian side. Veterans cricket has enjoyed remarkable success over the past decade - a typical National’s competition has three divisions, with eight teams in each one (all states and territories, minus Northern Territory, but with New Zealand included). Hurley and the Australian over 65s team commence their warm-up games in Adelaide from 3-5 February, ahead of the quad-series in Maroochydore from 8-12 June.

Local cricket identity picked for national masters

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