Day 1 - NZ vs Queensland

TBC

Day 2 - NZ vs Australia Game #1

Australia won the toss and captain Judd chose to bat. Smith and Murphy started the innings and made a bright start. At 29 after 5 overs Askew got one to jag and bounce catching Murphy by surprise, out for 22 off 20.

Solway joined Smith and they took the score to 88 after 20 overs with some cracking shots. The introduction of Andrew Nuttall quickly very changed the momentum as he nabbed Solway for 37, Smith for 27 and Mensforth for a duck in the space of two overs.

Butler and Blair began the rebuild until a mix up saw Blair run out by Richard Calkin. Butler began to be more aggressive and with Hickey took the score to 141 before Butler fell in the 37th over for 29 to a smart caught and bowled by Kusal Eriyagama.

Australia then recovered well and a crucial partnership of 48 run in the last 7 overs saw them reach 189-6 at the end of their 45 overs.  Andrew Nuttall with 3-23 off 9 overs was the standout NZ bowler.

NZ's reply saw captain Craig Gibb and the aggressive Richard Calkin progress to 29 when Hickey had Calkin caught by Sargent for 17. Gibb was next to go for 9 with the score on 42 to halt the promising start.

Martin Pike and Channa Weerapperuma then went on the attack and the score advanced to 110 when Pike was trapped LBW for a very well made 48. Weerapperuma was joined by McKnight who misjudged the strength and accuracy of a Bill Blair throw which saw him run out from mid off with a direct hit and the score 114-4.

The Australian bowlers and fielders kept things tight and as the run rate climbed the wickets kept falling. At 125 Weerapperuma was bowled by Judd for 28. Jensen and Askew follwed and NZ were 140-7 and on the back foot.

Then Mike Van Staden and Marty Pennefather looked as though they may take the game away from Australia before a a pivotal moment came when Solway took a one handed special at cover off Van Staden for 11. Pennefather then continued his onslaught as the Kiwis moved closer to the target.

Tight bowling and fielding continued to be the key which led to a mix up by the batters and the dangerous Pennefather was run out for 24. With 12 required Sargent finished the innings by claiming the last wicket LBW.

Andrew Nuttall was Player of the Day for NZ following his outstanding bowling effort while Martin Pike picked up the other Kiwi award for his 48 runs.

Day 3 - NZ vs Australia Game #2

Another picturesque Queensland day greeted the players at Wynnum. NZ captain Craig Gibb called correctly and chose to bat.

Richard Calkin and Craig Gibb opened and started brightly before Calkin fell to a fine catch near the mid wicket boundary. Steady progress was made through to 47 off 13 overs before Martin Pike was bowled for 14.

A promising 3rd wicket partnership ensued until the 27th over when Gibb was smartly stumped for 43. Channa Weerapperuma continued on to match his captain's score of 43 before he was bowled.

At 132-4 after 36 overs the game was evenly poised. Ken McKnight and Dean Askew came together and looked to increase the run rate with overs running out. McKnight was run out for a well-made 18. Askew hit some big boundaries as he ended 27 not out off 25 balls and NZ finished at 190-6 at the end of their 45 overs. A very similar score to game #1 (Australia 189-6) but the general consensus was the track was playing better today.

NZ made an early breakthrough with 17 runs on the board when Askew found the edge of Mensforth's bat through to keeper McKnight.  Australia's vice-captain Solway came to crease and with opener Smith they took the game away from NZ with a match-winning 118 partnership in 22 overs. Solway eventually fell LBW to an Andrew Nuttall arm ball for an impressive 70 runs off 72 balls. Kratzmann joined Smith and their unbeaten partneship of 28 off 36 balls saw the Aussies through to a comfortable victory by 8 wickets with just under 9 overs remaining.

Weerapperuma was NZ's Player of the Day for his knock of 43 runs.

Day 4 - NZ vs Australia Game #3

Australia won the toss in this third and final game of the series, and batted first in excellent conditions.

After losing an early wicket the Australian top-order maintained a healthy run rate until mid-innings when once again Andrew Nuttall not only put the brakes on the scoring rate but took regular wickets to finish with the outstanding figures of 4-17 off 9 overs. His net run rate of 1.88 was considerable better than the next best of 4.44 and the Australian batters prospered off the rest of the attack to reach a series high total of 235-8 in their 45 overs.

In reply NZ made a steady start before Richard Calkin was again dismissed just as he was set and getting into his stride. Martin Pike went early as one of Tony Panecasio's four victims and an inspired start to Donovan's bowling spell with three quick wickets tore through the NZ middle order putting Australia firmly in control. 

Ken McKnight joined his skipper Craig Gibb and these two put on the best NZ partnership of the series and after McKnight was dismissed for an excellent 43 off 46 balls, Gibb continued to keep NZ in sight of victory. However, losing more wickets and not being able to hit boundaries in the last few overs saw NZ end up agonisingly short of their target to lose by just 3 runs!

Craig Gibb played the innings of the tournament to bat through the NZ innings for a superb 125 not out off 136 balls, including 17 fours. A true captain's knock and NZ will rue many small moments in games one and three where they could easily have ended up winning rather than losing against the reigning Over 60 World Champions.

A great series overall and a perfect warm-up for both squads for the upcoming Over 60s World Cup in Canada next month.