Trio vie for rights to host pink ball test
Mt Maunganui’s Bay Oval is among three venues in the running to host New Zealand’s second day-night cricket test, likely to be against Bangladesh in March.
New Zealand Cricket chief executive David White said they were hopeful one of Bangladesh’s three tests would be a floodlit pink ball match, amid 40 days of international cricket pencilled in for the next home season.
Bangladesh’s board had agreed to play a pink ball test, and White said Bay Oval, Hamilton’s Seddon Park and Napier’s McLean Park were in the running to host it.
‘‘We’re just working through that detail and have gone out to venues and major associations for expressions of interest.’’
Bay Oval is yet to host a test but proved a successful venue for floodlit limited overs internationals and looks tailormade for a pink ball match.
White said: ‘‘It’s had minimal firstclass games but it’s one of the venues we are considering.
‘‘Napier is under consideration as is Seddon Park. As we understand it they’re looking to upgrade their lights, which has been a bit of an issue for a pink ball test in Hamilton.’’
As an established test venue, Seddon Park may have the inside running and hosted the pink ball warmup match against England in March. Auckland’s Eden Park, which staged the country’s inaugural day-nighter against England, would not be considered.
‘‘It’s fair to say it would be a challenge financially to play it at Eden Park,’’ White said.
Day-night tests are a continued discussion point in world cricket, as India appear reluctant to agree to Cricket Australia’s request to play with the pink ball in Adelaide on December 6.
India are likely to play two tests in New Zealand in 2019-20, the first season of the new test championship, but whether either is scheduled as a daynighter was yet to be discussed.
‘‘We’ll keep entertaining the [daynight test] idea and keep exploring it, keep talking to the players and our stakeholders,’’ White said.
‘‘It’s great from a fan point of view, but where it fits into the test championship is still to be resolved [by the ICC].’’
Home fans will get five tests next summer, one more than last season when there was a 100-day gap between the West Indies and England twomatch series.
Sri Lanka kick things off with two pre-Christmas tests, before the usual plethora of white ball cricket. This time one-day internationals take precedence in World Cup year, with 11 ODIs against Sri Lanka (3), India (5) and Bangladesh (3), and just four Twenty20 internationals. Virat Kohli’s powerhouse Indians will be the headline act.
The 40 scheduled days make it another marathon season for Kane Williamson and his men, just short of the 42 days they played at home last summer. The home summer:
❚ December-January: Sri Lanka (two tests, three ODIs, one T20)
❚ Jan-February: India (five ODIs, three
T20s)
❚ Feb-March: Bangladesh (three tests, three ODIs)