South starved of top cricket

THE Bay Oval will host at least 10 times as much international cricket this year as Dunedin’s major ground as cash and big players at the table dominate.

The oneday international between India and the Black Caps played at the new park at Mount Maunganui last night was the fourth major oneday game to be played at that venue in the last month.

The Black Caps played the Sri Lankans in two oneday internationals at Bay Oval and then took on India at the same venue last Saturday.

The White Ferns will take on India at the Bay Oval today.

Then throw in three oneday games and a test, all played between New Zealand A and India A before Christmas there, and it has become a second home for international sides.

The ground certainly has been popular with teams this season. It is well into double figures for days of international cricket.

In contrast, the University of Otago Oval has just the one day of international cricket this year — hosting Bangladesh on February 20 in a oneday game.

The venue has been popular in attracting test cricket in the South with eight tests there since it was redeveloped more than 10 years ago.

It may be pretty and nice venue to watch from but it does not have the one advantage of many other grounds — lights.

When the big sides come south to this neck of the woods — and India is the biggest of them — they insist on everything, and that includes when games are started.

That means games have to be played at night. And the University of Otago Oval does not have lights. No major cricket ground in the South Island does.

Otago Cricket Association chief executive Mike Coggan said India was a big financial player in world cricket and sought broadcasting times which tied in with the Indian audience.

That is why games here are starting one hour later than usual.

Coggan said the positive was it drove more money into the game and that would hopefully trickle through to the ICC member nations, which included New Zealand.

The issues of lights was on the agenda for Otago Cricket Association a few years ago but was binned after money had to be spent on the embankment and other facilities at the ground to get it up to scratch.

Coggan said it may be something to look at in the future and that was tied in around discussions with New Zealand Cricket about the shape of the domestic cricket programme.

Dunedin had the disadvantage of weather not being conducive at the start of the summer to host games in order to get the pitch in top condition for international play.

He said DVML, which now promotes and runs games, was working hard to keep the University of Otago Oval as a preferred test venue for games. The preferred period for games was in FebruaryMarch.

Bay Oval also had the advantage of being an area popular for holiday makers while Dunedin over DecemberJanuary emptied out as people went to Central Otago.