The national over 70s cricket team, known as the Grey Caps, will host the Over-70s World Cup at grounds across Canterbury starting on February 18.
Wilson, who lives near Tai Tapu, is one of five in the squad who play for Canterbury, while a further three live in the region but play for Otago.
“We might be a bit older, but you never lose the desire to win and your competitive spirit,” Wilson said.
“And we’ve got guys in our team, I don’t think it would matter whether you’re playing darts or pickleball or cricket, they want to win. You never lose that.”
West Melton’s Hamish Cochrane, who plays for Otago in the national domestic tournament, is on standby should injuries occur.
With the Grey Caps playing a world cup game every two days, fitness is an important focus.
Said Wilson: “I go to the gym five times a week, and then on top of that, I play tennis three times a week, and pickleball as well. Plus, I’ve got a dog that needs a walk every day.
“The other important thing is a lot of stretching – making sure we’re still able to stretch and get the muscles working. Some of these guys can run in, scoop the ball up with one hand and throw it in from the boundary, they look and move like they’re 35 years old.
“They are fantastic athletes.”
The Over-70s World Cup features eight teams who will play each other in the round-robin, with the top two teams to play in the final at Hagley Oval on March 5.
Five matches will be played in Selwyn, with Lincoln’s Bert Sutcliffe Oval hosting two, Darfield Domain two, and Rhodes Park in Tai Tapu one.
New Zealand’s opening match is against the Rest of the World team – made up of players from non-competing nations such as Pakistan and Scotland – on February 18 at Mandeville Sports Centre in Ohoka.
The Grey Caps will then face Sri Lanka, Australia, the United States, India, England and Canada, with the match against India scheduled for February 26 at Bert Sutcliffe Oval in Lincoln.
Wilson said the key fixtures would be against Australia on February 22 and England on March 1, with the Grey Caps likely needing to win at least one to reach the final. The team finished fourth in 2024.
“I played in the last world cup in England, which was fantastic, but with travel and accommodation, it was quite an expensive trip and a lot of guys couldn’t make it,” he said.
“We’ve got a substantially better team this year, and we’re hoping to be competitive.
“The English and the Aussies are in the middle of a three-test series at the moment in Australia, so they’ll be in good nick.”
Wilson said he was just looking forward to getting out on the pitch and competing.
“The worst that can happen is we lose a cricket game.
“But we will have a good time and we’ll enjoy ourselves. It’s just lovely to be able to still do it at our age, that’s the bonus.”
- The tournament starts on Wednesday with New Zealand against the Rest Of World. Sri Lanka will play Canada at Burnside Park, while Australia come up against India at Burwood Park, and England meet USA at Sydenham Park.
OVER-70S WORLD CUP GAMES IN SELWYN
- Feb 22: USA v Rest Of World, Darfield Domain;
- Feb 24: England v Australia, Bert Sutcliffe Oval;
- Feb 26: New Zealand v India, Bert Sutcliffe Oval;
- Mar 1: USA v Sri Lanka, Darfield Domain;
- Mar 3: India v USA, Rhodes Park
