Legend of NZ cricket Grant Elliott is lending his support to help fundraise for St George's Anglican Church in Gate Pa.

Grant was the guest of honour at the fundraising night on Friday, and was also booked to run a special one-on-one coaching session for the first 10 young players to sign up at Bay Indoor Cricket Centre.

Grant's parents immigrated to NZ, settling in Tauranga about three years ago, and became involved in the Gate Pa church.

Grant's father asked him to help them with raising funds for the church.

Primarily a batting all-rounder, Grant became a cult hero in New Zealand, after his man of the match performance and match-winning innings in the World Cup semifinal win over South Africa in 2015.

A veteran of more than 100 games for New Zealand, the 38-year-old retired from ODI cricket in April 2016.

Domestically, he plays for the Wellington Firebirds.

In March 2017, he announced his retirement from international cricket.

He signed for Birmingham Bears as a Kolpak registration, joining fellow New Zealanders Jeetan Patel and Colin de Grandhomme at Edgbaston and has played an important role in developing the younger members of the squad.

Recently, he was part of a World XI side to play three Twenty20 International matches against Pakistan in the 2017 Independence Cup in Lahore.

Friday night's fundraiser, held at the Tauranga Yacht & Power Boat Club, was a great night out for cricket lovers who came along to hear an audio-visual presentation by Grant, as he talked about his life in cricket.

His presentation included what makes for poorly performing team, and conversely what makes for a high-performing team. Grant drew on his experience with the World Cup team, and the leadership displayed. He showed clips and newspaper headlines from his lowest moments in cricket as well as some of the highlights, demonstrating the resilience and motivation needed to rise above the self-doubts and intense pressure that can surround players.

There was also a sports quiz with great prizes, followed by an auction.

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