Lou Vincent Returns for Hot Spring Spas T20 Black Clash
Lou Vincent will climb out of the shadows and into a Hot Spring Spa pool on live radio this morning, another surreal chapter in one of New Zealand sport’s most remarkable comebacks.
The former Black Cap, whose life ban from cricket was lifted in 2025, is set for his third appearance at the Hot Spring Spas T20 Black Clash in association with Wolfbrook, returning again to the made-for-television spectacle that helped reconnect him with the game he once lost.
Vincent back in the frame, Walsh back for more
Vincent’s presence alone adds intrigue, but he will not be the only familiar face. Former All Blacks captain Kieran Read and Israel Dagg are again on the Rugby roster, and they will be joined by a man who has already left his mark on this crossover circus.
Brent “Buck” Walsh, who thumped 34 runs in his last Black Clash outing in 2022 – the most recent time Team Rugby tasted victory – is back to swing hard and swing often. That innings underlined why the event works: big names, big hits, and a genuine edge of competition beneath the smiles.
Now Walsh links up with Read and Dagg once more, a trio of rugby royalty trying to knock over some of New Zealand cricket’s most seasoned operators.
Wagner’s second act
On the other side of the divide, Neil Wagner gets his own kind of encore.
The left-arm quick, who retired from international cricket in 2024 with 260 Test wickets and fifth place on New Zealand’s all-time list, returns to the Black Clash arena alongside long-time partner-in-crime Tim Southee, who will again captain Team Cricket.
Wagner featured last year, taking the ball for four overs and going for 52 runs without getting a chance to bat. It was chaotic, it was expensive, and it was pure Black Clash theatre. This time, he has another shot at bending the game his way, reunited with Southee in a setting far more relaxed than a Test match but still played under bright lights and sharper egos.
Hagley Oval, where the show keeps growing
Hagley Oval will host the event for the fifth time, a venue that has become the spiritual home of the Black Clash. The mix is familiar now: cricketers with reputations to defend, rugby stars with reputations to make, and a crowd that turns up for the spectacle as much as the scorecard.
Event director Carlena Limmer believes this edition can top the lot.
“We’re opening up the opportunity for other athletes to showcase their cricketing prowess on one of the biggest sporting stages of the year,” Limmer said. “It’s going to be fascinating to see who among our nation’s sporting heroes puts their hands up to showcase their – so far – hidden talent and play alongside some of New Zealand’s biggest rugby stars.
“And it’s great to be heading back to Ōtautahi Christchurch – the city where it all began and where the good times continue to roll.”
Team Cricket edged the 2026 contest by five runs, a tight finish that underlined how seriously both camps now take bragging rights. That kind of margin lingers in dressing rooms. Rugby wants payback. Cricket wants a stranglehold.
Fans clearly plan to be part of it. Pre-sale tickets went on sale on Tuesday and general sale opened today, a signal that the countdown to another summer showdown between bat, ball and boot has already begun.
