Mclean Park farce called off
The sorry saga that is cricket at Mclean Park took another farcical twist when the second Chappellhadlee Trophy one-day cricket international was abandoned without a ball bowled.
Despite persistent morning rain in Napier clearing at 1.45pm, soft patches on the outfield around the 30m circle saw umpires Chris Brown and Kumar Dharmasena call off the New Zealand-australia match at 6.45pm yesterday.
It was a dire end to a hugely frustrating day and will mean serious questions are asked at New Zealand Cricket as to Mclean Park’s fitness to host international cricket in future.
A substantial crowd who’d waited for hours for play to start took the delay badly and there was a chorus of boos and slow claps around the ground. Their only minor consolation is they receive a ticket refund from NZC.
It means the Black Caps take a 1-0 series lead into game three in Hamilton on Sunday but still need to win it to reclaim the trophy they lost in December.
A 37-over match was all set to start at 4.45pm when the umpires declared the ground fit for play after consulting groundsman Phil Stoyanoff.
But just before the coin toss was due to be conducted, Australian captain Aaron Finch dug his shoe into the turf on the 30m circle on the Harris Stand side of the ground and made a shot put-sized indentation.
Finch and New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson consulted on the soft patch of ground then, after discussions with the umpires, play was further delayed. Both teams had warmed up on the outfield and the Black Caps bowlers had marked out their runups, as it looked as if play would get under way for sure.
Another 4.45pm inspection saw a further delay, with water having seeped up through the turf and the outfield still not deemed safe. The 6.30pm inspection was the umpires’ fifth of the day.
The abandonment was another hammer blow for Mclean Park’s status as an international venue after continued drainage issues.
The 2013 ODI against West Indies, and last year’s ODI against Pakistan, were both called off when the outfield failed to dry in time after downpours despite long hours of dry weather.
Napier City Council is understood to have tried to fix the drainage in front of the Harris Stand, but yesterday’s issues were on various parts of the ground inside the 30m circle.
Mclean Park hosts another one-day international against South Africa on March 1, but its future status as an international venue will come under increasing scrutiny with several boutique grounds around the country like Nelson and Tauranga making a strong play for more international cricket.
There was a degree of sympathy for local officials after days of fine weather, and a forecast of a fine and warm weekend in Hawke’s Bay.
Local farmers on parched land would be the only ones cheering, as the old adage played out again: schedule a cricket match in Napier and the rain will come.
Napier was awarded the second Chappell-hadlee Trophy ODI after Wellington’s Westpac Stadium held a prior booking for the Guns N’ Roses concert. Ironically, heavy rain in Wellington would likely have washed out the match if it had been scheduled there too.
Central Districts chief executive Pete De Wet said this week the Napier council had invested more money in the ground in hope of securing more internationals including test matches.