Packer Pooh’s - 1978 Cricket tour of New Zealand

Steve Frances | July 28, 2023

In February 1978, a team of cricketers from the Campbelltown area, undertook a 17-day tour of New Zealand. The team included 5 players with Sydney grade experience, and most came from the local Campbelltown competition. The team and matches were organised during weekly “meetings” at the Campbelltown Tennis Club (now Wests Tigers Tennis Club).

The tour was 7 matches played against working men’s clubs, as well as matches against the Wellington and Northern Districts B sides. While in Wellington we stayed in the same hotel as the English Cricket team, captained by Geoff Boycott, who were playing a test against NZ at the Basin Reserve. Coincidentally, on the Sunday rest day, the entire New Zealand squad practiced on the turf nets that the Campbelltown team were using prior to travelling on to Napier.

The New Zealand team subsequently won the test, the first ever victory for NZ in a test against England. The ND’s side included former test left arm spinner, David O’Sullivan. The local Campbelltown newspaper reported on the tour.