The Black Caps and All Blacks will go head-to-head early next year in a T20 match to be held at Christchurch, all for charity.
Former New Zealand skippers Stephen Fleming and Brendon McCullum, Kyle Mills, Grant Elliot and Luke Ronchi are some of the names who will turn out for the Black Caps in the charity match.
The All Blacks, meanwhile, will be captained by Kieran Read with the likes of Richie McCaw, Beauden Barrett, Jordie Barrett and Israel Dagg appearing for the match.
The money raised by the charity match will go to the benevolent funds of the rugby and cricket associations of New Zealand.
Read, who is currently the skipper of the All Blacks, has played age-group cricket for Northern Districts previously and has admitted to being slightly nervous for the match.
“I’m going to be a bit nervous, to be honest,” Read told Stuff.co.nz.
McCullum and Fleming will turn out for the Black Caps.
“You lose your hand-eye co-ordination pretty quickly in this game. I’ll have to get out and hit a few balls to get my eye back in.”
Stephen Fleming will lead the professional cricketers in the game and he is expecting a tough fight from the All Blacks.
“I thought if we had the opportunity with a brand as big as the All Blacks, it would pique my interest,” Fleming had told the Herald on Sunday.
“We’re putting our reputations on the line here. We know just how good the likes of Kieran and his rugby mates are at cricket. They’re exceptional athletes and many of them could have been international cricketers had they chosen another path. So we’re on high alert, that’s for sure.”
The charity T20 match is slated to be held in the early part of 2019.