HAMILTON cricketer Nic Cullinane has been selected to play for Victoria Over-50 and Over-55 teams at the Veterans Cricket Australia National Championships.

Cullinane first came to the selectors’ notice when he gained a spot in the Victorian Over-50 Third XI two years ago, where he starred, and from there he has worked his way through the system by gaining selection in the Second XI last year and now the First XI.

The Hamilton Cricket Club opening batsman has been told he will bat at number three in the order (often regarded as the spot the best batsman in a side occupies), where he will be tested by the best bowlers from across Australia when the Over-50 Championships begin on Sunday in Newcastle, NSW.

Victoria will be tested against the ACT on Sunday, New Zealand on Monday, and then South Australia on Wednesday with the final on Thursday, should Victoria qualify.

When he fronts up for the Over-55 Victorian team, he will be opening the batting when the carnival takes place in Canberra during the first week of December.

“My selection means the world to me, “ Cullinane said.

“It’s the culmination of a lot of hard work over the last couple of years, and it shows that I’m at the standard required to perform at this level of the game.

“It’s a vindication for me as many said I couldn’t reach the standard required, but I refused to listen and here we are.”

While one could be forgiven in thinking that the players at this level wouldn’t need to train all that much, it couldn’t be further from the truth.

Each week Cullinane undergoes up to nine sessions of either batting or fielding practice, plus fitness session, too along with his regular club training for Hamilton twice a week.

“When I first started to work towards selection a couple of years ago, I was undertaking a nine-hour round trip to Croydon to attend training where I would bat in the nets for 10-15 minutes,” he said.

“Now, I’m able to undertake all the required training at the Monivae Hub, which is a first-class facility the equal of Junction Oval, the home base of Cricket Victoria.

He has also set a few benchmarks along the journey too, with him being the only player selected in both the Over-50 and Over-55 teams, he is the only player to have earned his spot in the Victorian First XI after starting in the Third XI and then the Second XI.

Last season he played in a Spirit of Cricket team that toured New Zealand and played a carnival against teams from both the host country and Australia, with the highlight being a game against the full-strength Australian team where he caught the eye with a stunning knock of 72-not-out.

“That was the catalyst for higher honours; while also scoring two scores of 50 retired-not-out against Geelong and South East Melbourne respectively also helped my cause.”

It hasn’t been all plain sailing for Cullinane who suffered every parent’s worst nightmare with the passing of his eldest son, Alex only four weeks ago.

At the time Cullinane was in Mildura playing in a T20 carnival with the Spirit of Cricket organisation when the news came through.

“I was so honoured that all the players, officials and organisers held a minute’s silence for Alex, and it really touched me and my wife, Tania, that they afforded him that mark respect,” Cullinane noted.

“With these selections my goal is to go on and try and gain a place in either of the Australian teams that are chosen for each age group, that would be a dream come true.”