- NRL great has agreed to play in all-star T20 match in New Zealand
- Johnathan Thurston will be joined by likes of Brian Lara & Richie McCaw
- Match at Mount Maunganui’s Bay Oval on January 20, tipped to sell-out
NRL legend Johnathan Thurston has been hand-picked to feature in a celebrity T20 match against cricket icon Brian Lara – in New Zealand.
The four-time Dally M Medal winner, who as a schoolboy in Queensland opened the batting and bowled first change, will feature in the sixth edition of the T20 Black Clash at Mount Maunganui’s Bay Oval on January 20.
A sold-out crowd is predicted, with All Blacks great Richie McCaw, decorated Black Caps left-arm orthodox spin bowler Daniel Vettori and dual rugby World Cup winner Kieran Read also confirmed starters in the match, which pits the country’s biggest rugby and cricket stars against each other.
Vettori, who picked Thurston as his team wildcard, has no doubt the Cowboys NRL premiership star in 2015 will hold his own in a different sport.
‘We are stoked to have a proven winner like Johnathan on board,’ he told the New Zealand Herald.
NRL legend Johnathan Thurston has been handpicked to feature in a celebrity T20 match against cricket icon Brian Lara – in New Zealand
As a schoolboy in Queensland, Thurston was a talented cricketer, opening the batting and bowling first change
West Indies great Brian Lara will be the star attraction, with the T20 match to be staged at Mount Maunganui’s Bay Oval on January 20
‘You just know he will produce something special on the day … legends like that always do.’
Thurston can’t wait to meet Lara – but doesn’t want to be fielding at bat-pad when the West Indies superstar is at the crease.
‘I’ve always been a massive cricket fan, so the chance to get out there and have a crack alongside some incredible sporting legends will be amazing,’ he said.
‘But hopefully, the captain [Vettori] puts me on the boundary when Brian is batting.’
Earlier this year, Thurston was inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame following a decorated career in rugby league.
He made his NRL debut in 2002, winning a premiership with the Bulldogs the same year.
Thurston went onto represent Queensland and the Kangaroos, before snaring another premiership ring in 2015 after kicking a field goal in golden point extra time for the Cowboys against the Broncos.
‘JT’ hung up his playing boots in 2018 and quickly made a successful transition to the media, where he remains employed by Channel Nine.
