Nelson Cricket

10/09/2026

YEAR 7/8 REPS 🏏 Expressions of interest are now open for an additional age group in our Pathway Programme: Year 7/8!

🔹BOYS: https://tinyurl.com/yr7-8-boys
🔹GIRLS: https://tinyurl.com/yr7-8-girls

Registrations close November 3rd. For more information, please email [email protected].

10/09/2026

It's nearly time for another year of Smash Play! 💥
If you have a child in school years 0-2, they can get a fun introduction to cricket with 45-minute softball sessions for beginners. With Smash Play hubs happening nearly every day of the week and all over the region, it's a great way to keep kids active over Terms 4 & 1.

For more info and to register, contact your preferred club. Begins November!

09/09/2026

Progress in the women's game is a priority, and it takes a village.

As a result of our Voice of Participants survey, a Women & Girls Leadership Group has been established, consisting of key figures from the cricket community who are passionate about driving women's cricket. The Leadership Group will be responsible for advocacy, initiatives, creating sustainable growth, and achieving strategic outcomes across the entire female cricket space from Smash Play to representative cricket.

Welcome to our new (but familiar!) faces of Rachel Fraser (Chair), Tony Pratt, Lauren Hutton, Janelle Houghton, and Kate Gaging as our Women's Leadership Group! 👏

07/09/2026

NOTICE OF AGM 📢 Nelson Cricket Association's Annual General Meeting will take place on Thursday, October 22nd at Saxton Oval Pavilion. All are welcome to attend.

This year we have 3x board vacancies to fill. Nominations should include a Governance CV and cover letter, and be submitted to Jake Inwood at [email protected] by October 1st.

07/09/2026

Want to represent Nelson in cricket? 🙋‍♀️🙋‍♂️ Expressions of interest are now open for all age group representative teams and our female flagship team.

If you love competitive cricket and want to represent Nelson at your respective Central Districts tournament this season, let us know! Sign up via your age group below:

BOYS:
🔹YR 11-12 BOYS: https://tinyurl.com/yr11-12-boys
🔹YR 10 BOYS: https://tinyurl.com/yr10-boys
🔹 YR 9 BOYS: https://tinyurl.com/yr9-boys

GIRLS:
🔸NYXONS (female flagship): https://tinyurl.com/nelson-nyxons
🔸YR 11-13 GIRLS: https://tinyurl.com/yr11-13-girls
🔸YR 9-10 GIRLS: https://tinyurl.com/yr9-10-girls

EOIs close September 25th at 5pm. Tournament dates can be found on the cricket calendar on our website. For more information, please email [email protected].

04/09/2026

We've got exciting news for you... 🐸 FROGBOX IS COMING!

This season, Nelson Cricket will be bringing Frogbox to the field. Frogbox is portable camera technology that will allow us to livestream feature games and create instant video highlights, adding a whole new element to our local sport.

Each week, we'll have a Frogbox Feature Game highlighted in our fixtures that will be livestreamed for everyone to enjoy. And this means being able to watch rep away games alongside the PlayHQ live scoring!

Stay tuned for the Frogbox Feature Game schedule to come.

03/09/2026

BECOME AN UMPIRE 🙋

Being an umpire is a great way to be on the pitch amongst the action, expand your knowledge of the game, and open up more opportunities in the world of cricket. And we need more of them!

Come along to a FREE umpires course at Sports House, Saxton on September 21st to get a solid foundation for umpiring at any level of community cricket.

➡ Register here: https://forms.cloud.microsoft/r/A56UuV7zSF. For more information, email [email protected].

31/08/2026

These school holidays, let's play some cricket! ⚡The Nelson Cricket School Holiday Programme is up to four full days of FUN & GAMES cricket for boys & girls ages 8-13. Come for one day... or all four! No cricket experience required, this one's just for fun.

📍Saxton Indoor Centre
📆 October 6-9th (second week of school holidays)
🕛 9am - 3pm
👦 Boys & Girls ages 8-13
💰1 day $30 | 2 days $55 | 3 days $80 | 4 days $100

Woohoo! Register here and we'll see you there!
https://www.playhq.com/new-zealand-cricket/register/fc771a

28/08/2026

It is with heavy hearts that we acknowledge Richard Hayward, a Life Member of Nelson Cricket, who passed away in Nelson on 27 August 2026.

By any measure Richard was one of the greats of Nelson Cricket as a player, captain, coach and administrator.

Richard grew up in England playing for the Ickenham Club before playing for Buckinghamshire in the Minor Counties competition and then playing first class cricket for Hampshire and Somerset.

Richard came out to Nelson to coach and play each season from 1979 returning to England to play their season until settling in Nelson permanently with his wife Sue in the mid-80’s.

He very quickly settled into the Nelson lifestyle, becoming an integral and popular member of both the Wakatu Club and the Nelson team (through the 80’s Hawke Cup era).

As a player Richard was very competitive but also played the game with deep respect for the traditions and spirit of the game.

Richard played for Nelson between 1979 and 1991 (captaining the team between 1982 and 1988) playing 88 games (5th highest all time) scoring 3704 runs (4th highest all time) at an average of 49.39 with 24 fifties and 7 centuries.

Arguably Richard’s greatest innings for Nelson was 91 in the Hawke Cup Challenge against Northland in1984. Batting on a difficult pitch in challenging weather and light conditions against a very strong Northland attack he held the innings together as Nelson eked out 227 runs before bowling Northland out for 187 to win back the Hawke Cup after losing it to them the prior season.

Richard also played first class cricket for Central Districts from 1983 to 1986 playing 27 first class and 16 List A games and captaining the team for 2 seasons. He was the captain of the 1985 Shell Cup winning team.

Through the 90’s Richard worked as Coaching Director for Nelson Cricket before moving to Christchurch in 2002 as Canterbury Cricket’s Director of Coaching and Development, a position he held for 12 years.

In 2014 he returned home to Nelson to take over as General Manager of Nelson Cricket before retiring in 2016. His time at the helm of Nelson Cricket coincided with the development of Saxton Oval as a regular International Cricket venue including hosting 3 games in the 2015 World Cup and Richard played a huge part in the successes of Nelson Cricket during this time.

New Zealand Cricket appointed Richard as a Match Referee in 2017 reflecting the respect that he was held in right across the game in New Zealand, and he continued in this role through until 2025 including refereeing 19 Women’s International games.

At Nelson Cricket’s 2022 AGM Richard was nominated and elected as a Life Member of Nelson Cricket recognising his years of service to Nelson Cricket at all levels.

We are sure that all in the cricket community will join with the Board and staff in acknowledging and celebrating our mate Richard and extending our condolences and best wishes to Sue, Juliette, Melanie, and the wider family.

26/08/2026

If you're keen to sharpen your coaching skills, New Zealand Cricket is offering a series of excellent virtual learning opportunities led by some key industry figures. These begin next week so tune in and get amongst! 🎓

Ready to sharpen your coaching skills before the season? 🧠

Join one of NZC’s virtual learning opportunities - flexible, accessible, and designed to help you keep growing as a coach.

LEARN MORE 👉 https://on.nzc.nz/45ZNN5l