Hutt Valley-based all-rounder Leigh Kelly first had an inkling of a new area of opportunity in his cricket at the end of last season.

Last week that opportunity became a reality when the Wellington 2nd XI captain, and New Zealand Indoor cricket representative, was named captain of the New Zealand Maori team to play in the first Pacifica Cricket Championship tournament in Auckland next month.

Kelly, 26, who has played some first-class cricket for Wellington, was approached by former international and New Zealand Youth selector Bruce Morrison who talked to him about the possibility of a New Zealand Maori team being selected to play in a tournament being organised by New Zealand Cricket (NZC).

"They were trying to gather a database of Maori cricketers. I may have been approached because there was some talk of a Maori team some years ago when Henry Skipper was trying to organise a side," he said.

Skipper was something of a legend in Hutt Valley cricket both for his bowling ability and his big-hitting.

When word came through the side was to be selected and take part in the International Cricket Council's development tournament against teams like Fiji, New Caledonia, Vanuatu, Tonga, Papua New Guinea, Samoa and the Cook Islands, there was great interest among prospective players.

"All of the six players who have been named from the Wellington region are dead keen and can't wait for the tournament.

"It is great to have the opportunity to play against other nations like this," he said.

Just what the longer term implications may be remains to be seen but if NZC is committed to assisting the development programme, tours by teams like NZ Maori to some of the other countries may be a logical development.

"Obviously the team could be a whole lot stronger but several eligible players are committed to their Shell Trophy programmes," he said.

Kelly hasn't given up his hopes of returning to first-class cricket and has been concentrating on developing his batting this year. That has been helped by the number of quality bowlers in his club Petone Riverside and in the Wellington 2nd XI side.

The Wellington team finished third in the 2nd XI and Kelly averaged around 25 with the bat and took a few wickets.

"We'll definitely be looking to win the tournament, that's why you go into these things," he said. "However, the opposition will be an unknown quantity. I've no idea how good they are going to be.

"We've got a good base of players, several of them have played at first-class level and I will be interested to see how it works out. It should be fascinating.

"I don't imagine some of the players from the other countries will be the sort of guys who spend a long time at the crease and it will be interesting to see how they hurl them down at us when they bowl," he said.

The NZ Maori team meets in Auckland on February 1 for the first day of the tournament on February 3.

The side is: Leigh Kelly (captain), Robbie Bird, David Little, Jonathan McNamee, Thomas Nukunuku, Ashley Turner (all Wellington), Ben Cochrane, Phillip Otto, Gene Waller (all Northern Districts), Peter McGlashan, Jonathan Paine, Jessie Ryder (Central Districts), Tane Topia (Auckland).

The tournament programme is:

Pool A: Fiji, New Caledonia, Vanuatu, Tonga.

Saturday, February 3 - Fiji v New Caledonia, Colin Maiden Park 1.

Vanuatu v Tonga, Colin Maiden Park 3.

Sunday, February 4 - New Caledonia v Vanuatu, CMP 1.

Tonga v Fiji, CMP 2.

Monday, February 5 - Vanuatu v Fiji, Cornwall Park.

New Caledonia v Tonga, CMP 2.

Pool B: Papua New Guinea (PNG), Samoa, Cook Islands, NZ Maori.

Saturday, February 3 - PNG v Samoa, CMP 2,

Cook Islands v NZ Maori, Melville Park.

Sunday, February 4 - Samoa v Cook Islands, Mt Albert Grammar School.

NZ Maori v PNG, CMP 3.

Monday, February 5 - Cook Islands v PNG, CMP 1.

Samoa v NZ Maori, CMP 3.

Teams are then ranked 1-4 in each pool based on points for results.

February 6 is a rest day with teams attending the New Zealand v Sri Lanka One-Day International.

Semi-finals will then be played on Wednesday, February 7 at Colin Maiden Park while finals will be played on the following day.

© CricInfo