Top class Twenty20 cricket will make its Rotorua debut on Sunday when a team of former New Zealand internationals and first class players will meet a Bay of Plenty Invitation XI at Smallbone Park.

The purpose of the match, between the Samsung NZCPA (NZ Cricket Players Association) Masters and a Bay Invitation team is to showcase the fastest growing version of the game in Rotorua. Another important reason for the game is to raise funds for the upgrade of the pavilion at Smallbone Park.
Smallbone Park is a unique standalone cricket venue in the country that has hosted a myriad of top class games since first used 45 years ago. Today the Rotorua ground has a strategic role in Bay of Plenty Cricket.
In recent seasons Smallbone Park has become a base for ND and NZ Cricket age group tournaments. With Boord Park just across the road, the two parks have become the host venues, for such as the NZ Cricket North Island Under 15 tournament played in January each year.
While the NZCPA side is still being put together, two favourite sons of Bay of Plenty Cricket will play in the Masters side. Former Black Caps Mathew and Robbie Hart are to dust off the cobwebs of their gear and will play in the match.
Another Masters confirmation for the day is one of the hardest hitting first class batsmen of the 1990s. James Pamment, who played for Auckland in the mid 1990s, always believed that attack was the best form of defence and had a highest score of 105 in major association one-day cricket.
He is not alone in this match though with the Bay Invitation team having several hard-hitting batsmen well suited to the rigours of the smash and bash of Twenty20 cricket. The Eastern Bay pair of Alex Yates and James Mitchell can drive the ball to the boundary with abandon while few in the Bay can hit the ball as hard as Brett Hampton.
The day begins at 10am when local junior players take part in a coaching session with some of the stars of the past that will be on show later in the day. The Twenty20 encounter begins at 1.30pm with the Smallbone Park boundaries likely to be under siege during the afternoon

BOP Invitation X1
Alex Yates, James Mitchell (EBOP) Mark Chapman, James MacMillan, Jared Christofferson, Jason Trembath, Christian Thurston, Andrew Gibbs (Rotorua) Tim Clarke, Steven Rae, Brett Hampton, Sean Sievwright (WBOP)