Michael James Mason (born 27 August 1974) is a former New Zealand

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by str ...

er, born in Carterton. He played Test matches and One Day Internationals for

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

Domestic career

He played domestic cricket for

Central Districts The Central Stags, formerly known as Central Districts, are a first-class cricket team based in central New Zealand. They are the men's representative side of the Central Districts Cricket Association. They compete in the Plunket Shield firs ...

. After recovering from an operation on a hernia during late 2008, he was back playing domestic cricket. He was also signed by the

Kings XI Punjab Punjab Kings (PBKS) are a franchise cricket team based in Mohali, Punjab, that plays in the Indian Premier League (IPL). Established in 2008 as the Kings XI Punjab (KXIP), the franchise is jointly owned by Mohit Burman, Ness Wadia, Preity Zi ...

for the Pepsi IPL 2013 as a replacement for the injured Ryan Harris. Mason's last match for Central Districts was on 12 February 2012. About a month before his retirement from the Central Districts, Mason helped complete what ''

The West Australian ''The West Australian'' is the only locally edited daily newspaper published in Perth, Western Australia. It is owned by Seven West Media (SWM), as is the state's other major newspaper, '' The Sunday Times''. It is the second-oldest continuous ...

'' thought might be a candidate for the "greatest cricket catch ever" by collaborating with teammate Bevan Small. Small, while fielding as the 12th man in January 2012 during the New Zealand domestic HRV Twenty20 competition (currently known as the Super Smash) as a 19-year-old, made a spectacular catch assist on the boundary line; Mason, who was 37 at the time, completed the catch. The ''

Laws of Cricket The ''Laws of Cricket'' is a code which specifies the rules of the game of cricket worldwide. The earliest known code was drafted in 1744 and, since 1788, it has been owned and maintained by its custodian, the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) in Lond ...

'' indicate that a catch can be initiated outside of the boundary line so long as the player is airborne whenever they are touching the ball; this must remain so until the ball is back inside the boundary (either completed by the same player or, as was the case with Small and Mason, completed by a teammate). A commentator during the match called it "possibly the most brilliant piece of fielding I've ever seen". The video has received millions of views across various online uploads. In 2009, Mason was part of the New Zealand A vs the England Lions at

Pukekura Park Pukekura Park is a Garden of National Significance, covering 52 hectares near the heart of New Plymouth, Taranaki in New Zealand. History The gala opening of New Plymouth's 15 hectare Recreation Ground was held on 29 May 1876. During the day th ...

, where New Zealand A won the match. Mason is currently living in

Pahiatua , image_skyline = Market day pahiatua 1st dec 2007 1.JPG , imagesize = , image_caption = , image_flag = , flag_size = , image_seal = , seal_size = , image_shi ...

International career

Michael Mason was part of the New Zealand squad for the tour of England in 2008. He took 3 wickets against Essex and was 12th man against England Lions. He was part of the New Zealand squad for the

2007 Cricket World Cup The 2007 ICC Cricket World Cup was the ninth Cricket World Cup, a One Day International (ODI) cricket tournament that took place in the West Indies from 13 March to 28 April 2007. There were a total of 51 matches played, three fewer than at the ...

After cricket

Following retirement in 2012, Mason began coaching the Manawatu senior team as well as the junior rep teams out of

Palmerston North Palmerston North (; mi, Te Papa-i-Oea, known colloquially as Palmy) is a city in the North Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Manawatū-Whanganui region. Located in the eastern Manawatu Plains, the city is near the north bank of the ...

. Mason currently resides in Palmerston North, Manawatu, and works as a builder.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mason, Michael 1974 births Living people Central Districts cricketers New Zealand One Day International cricketers New Zealand Test cricketers New Zealand Twenty20 International cricketers Cricketers at the 2007 Cricket World Cup New Zealand cricketers People from Carterton, New Zealand People educated at Tararua College North Island cricketers