CORRECTED-Cricket-Former NZ captain Crowe aims for return at 49

(Corrects the number of years Crowe has been retired in intro)

WELLINGTON May 20 (Reuters) - Former New Zealand cricket captain Martin Crowe, who retired 15 years ago, is to play club cricket later this year with the ultimate aim of playing first class cricket at the age of 49.

Crowe, who made his first class debut as a 17-year-old in 1979, said on Friday he is to play for the Cornwall Cricket Club in Auckland with the aim of earning a recall to the Auckland side for the Plunket Shield competition.

"I have had a lot of text messages with just one word 'why'," Crowe, who turns 49 on Sept. 22, told TVNZ's One News on Friday.

"In what is probably a bit of mid-life crisis I have come up with a solution -- trying to get fit and up to speed to play a competitive game of cricket again."

Crowe has played 247 first-class games for Auckland, Central Districts, Wellington and Somerset, and scored 19,608 runs, which was a catalyst for his decision.

"My friend texted me to say 'Hey you've only got 392 runs to complete 20,000 first class runs' and I thought that is an amazing Everest for me to climb," he added.

Crowe, widely considered one of the best batsmen produced by New Zealand, scored 5444 test runs with 17 centuries at an average of 45.36, but was forced to retire in 1996 due to a persistent knee injury, but he said that was no longer an issue.

"The knee is pretty good, it's all bolted and plated in so it's not going anywhere," said Crowe who was shown undergoing a workout at an Auckland gymnasium.

Crowe admitted "everything would need to go beautifully well", for him to earn a first-class recall, though Auckland Cricket said nothing was out of the question.

"For him to break into that would be a huge challenge, an almost impossible challenge for a 48-year-old, but for Martin Crowe and bearing in mind all that he has done, who knows?" Auckland Cricket chief executive Andrew Eade said. (Reporting by Greg Stutchbury; Editing by Alastair Himmer; To comment on this story email sportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com) Please double click on the newslink: for more cricket stories