served as Team Rugby\u2019s wildcard in 2026<\/a>, but will return to his cricketing roots for the 2027 match. <\/p>\n\u201cIt was fun to hang with the rugby boys but I\u2019m going back to where I belong,\u201d Southee said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat means the pressure is on to defend cricket\u2019s honour this time around. <\/p>\n
\u201cThis isn\u2019t a game proper cricketers can afford to lose. <\/p>\n
\u201cSo, I\u2019ll be reaching out to a few of the boys to make sure we have plenty of firepower to unleash on Team Rugby + Friends at Hagley Oval in January.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Team]()
Team Cricket\u2019s new captain Tim Southee served as Team Rugby\u2019s wildcard in 2026. In 2027, he’s returning to Team Cricket. Photo \/ Chris Symes, Photosport<\/p>\n
Southee\u2019s international teammate, Lou Vincent, was the first major player announcement for Team Cricket, with the hard-hitting batsman set to make his third appearance at the T20 Black Clash.<\/p>\n
Vincent \u2013 whose one-handed catch to remove Michael Hussey was a highlight of the 2026 event \u2013 is likely to square off against Black Clash legend Israel Dagg.<\/p>\n
Dagg, a fast-bowling former All Blacks and Crusaders finisher, will return for Team Rugby + Friends for the first time since 2023.<\/p>\n
ChristchurchNZ\u2019s head of major events, Karena Finnie, said the event was also a great chance for people to explore Christchurch.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe city is abuzz peak summer, there\u2019s so much on and what better time to attend the country\u2019s cross-code cricket spectacle and exploring everything \u014ctautahi has to offer.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis fifth Hagley Oval Hot Spring T20 Black Clash will light up the city on Friday night, giving anyone new or returning to Christchurch the chance to take a long weekend and really soak up the full Christchurch experience. <\/p>\n
\u201cWith the venue an easy stroll from the city, attendees will find a vibrant rejuvenated hub overflowing with hot spots right in the heart of the city.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"The]()
The 2027 Black Clash showdown will be held at Christchurch\u2019s Hagley Oval. Photo \/ George Heard<\/p>\n
Event director Carlena Limmer said the tweaks to an event that has established itself as a staple of the Kiwi sporting summer would take it to the next level.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re opening up the opportunity for other athletes to showcase their cricketing prowess on one of the biggest sporting stages of the year.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s going to be fascinating to see who among our nation\u2019s sporting heroes puts their hands up to showcase their \u2013 so far \u2013 hidden talent and play alongside some of New Zealand\u2019s biggest rugby stars.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd it\u2019s great to be heading back to \u014ctautahi Christchurch \u2013 the city where it all began and where the good times continue to roll.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cRest assured we\u2019ll be leaving no stone unturned to unearth the talent we need to knock off Team…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":882641,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[564],"tags":[89838,617,20870,64,63,303,36133,115961,22409,740,54916,37466,9371,137117,4717,18140,2652,8936,17318,760,6081,16372,85,10965,3018,9501,10874,319,96398,10593,1050,3605,22671],"class_list":["post-882640","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cricket","tag-89838","tag-and","tag-annual","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-black","tag-bringing","tag-christchurch","tag-clash","tag-cricket","tag-faces","tag-fresh","tag-friends","tag-hopes","tag-in","tag-lead","tag-on","tag-over","tag-recruiting","tag-rugby","tag-showdown","tag-some","tag-sports","tag-take","tag-team","tag-that","tag-them","tag-to","tag-twist","tag-victory","tag-will","tag-with","tag-zealands"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/882640","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=882640"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/882640\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/882641"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=882640"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=882640"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=882640"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}