Eden Park bowled out
Broadcast demands mean Auckland fans miss out on live test cricket next summer
Aucklanders are again paying for the wrangle over using Eden Park for daynight cricket. The ground will host just two men’s T20s next summer out of 40 days of international cricket.
New Zealand will play Sri Lanka in a T20 on January 11, starting at 7pm, and India in another 20-over game, also beginning at 7pm on February 8.
The time is important. Star Sports, New Zealand Cricket’s broadcast partners, insisted games begin an hour later than usual to better accommodate the vast Indian market.
They relented for the T20 match but every other game on the eightmatch tour will start an hour later than usual — that is, 3pm for the five ODIs and 8pm for the remaining two T20s. No other venue is affected by Star’s demands.
Eden Park’s restrictions around hosting night events have hurt NZC’s ambitions to have more matches in Auckland and that will only heighten the determination to get the game’s base moved to Western Springs, which is a key part of the Auckland council’s venue development strategy.
That involves rotating various sports around the city to what they feel are more appropriate locations. NZC support the proposed move.
“NZC would’ve liked to have scheduled more India matches at Eden Park but was unable to do so because of restrictions at the venue,” NZC chief operating officer Anthony Crummy said yesterday.
“Star have been fantastic through the process. They are really important partners for us.
“We want to get the right balance to maximise the amount of people who can watch the games in India, but also so we can maximise them here as well.
“But with the ODIs, it was a stretch too far.”
Eden Park isn’t a regular holiday venue but there was a determination to have a Sri Lankan game in Auckland as part compensation.
The five tests next summer will be played at Wellington’s Basin Reserve (two), Hagley Oval in Christchurch (also two) and Hamilton’s Seddon Park.
Tauranga’s hopes of hosting a five-dayer at Bay Oval have been dashed, as have the ambitions of hosting a second day-night test during the summer, to follow the England test at Eden Park last season.
Bangladesh, the second of the test visitors, turned down the chance on the grounds they would not have had sufficient preparation for the pink ball fixture.
If they had agreed, it would have been
played at Seddon Park anyway.
Bay Oval’s compensation for that blow is to host two ODIs against the Sri Lankans just after New Year’s Day, two more against India and an ODI on the Indian women’s tour to play the White Ferns. They’ll also host a four-day India A-New Zealand A fixture, plus three 50-over games between those teams.
“Bay Oval is a fantastic venue but still a relatively young venue with the amount of first-class cricket it’s had,” Crummy said.
“It may well be a test venue in the future but with the timing of them we decided to go with traditional venues.
“It’s certainly going to play a huge role. They are a key venue for us.”
There will be three T20 doubleheaders featuring the two national teams, and all six White Ferns games against India will be televised, a first for the women.
Sri Lanka will play two tests, three ODIs and a solitary T20; India have five ODIs and three T20s; while Bangladesh wrap up the international season with three ODIs and three tests.
There’s good news for Napier, with McLean Park back on the schedule after significant ground repairs following the washed international against Australia in February last year.
It will host an ODI featuring each of India, Bangladesh and the Indian women.
Lack of lights in the South Island have hindered options and Dunedin will host just a solitary ODI against Bangladesh, while Christchurch has two tests but no short form matches. In addition, the Indian-centric feel to the summer includes three four-day fixtures — at Mt Maunganui, Seddon Park and Whangarei’s Cobham Oval.