Matt Hart's benefit

Northern Districts stalwart Matthew Hart is to have a benefit match in December and it is looking to be a star-studded event. I don't want to repeat myself - having given Hart a bit of a rave when he announced his retirement a few months ago - but he is one of those players who deserves recognition. Hart was one of the most promising players of his generation, but got caught up in the disastrous "dope-smoking" tour of South Africa in 1994/5. While Dion Nash and Stephen Fleming shrugged the scandal of the tour off and went on to great things, Hart seemed shell-shocked and his New Zealand career never recovered. That didn't stop Hart from playing cricket though, and he spent the next ten years with his head down and dedicating himself to his Northern Districts side. Between 1990 and 2005 Hart played 95 matches for ND and if anyone deserves a bulging Westpac Park on 16 December, then its him.