McLean Park loses third one-dayer

The international cricket tea break looks like lasting a full two years for Napier’s McLean Park.

Delays in re-turfing the ground means the Black Caps one-day international against England on February 28 will be shifted to Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui.

It is the third match that has been moved from McLean Park due to drainage issues in the outfield, and means Hawke’s Bay cricket fans will have two full years between drinks.

The last international match to be hosted in Napier was the ODI between New Zealand and Australia in February, which turned into yet another fiasco. Rain fell the morning of the game, and despite five hours of clear weather it had to be abandoned due to the state of the outfield.

A scheduled game against South Africa in March was immediately sent to Hamilton following that debacle, then matters got worse as another match was shifted, this time a January 2018 clash with Pakistan.

With a third match being moved, things have only got worse for Napier.

Work began on repairing the surface of McLean Park earlier this year and it was hoped the ground would be ready for the upcoming international summer.

Ironically, poor weather in Auckland has delayed the returfing process, because the new McLean Park surface is being grown in the city.

Napier City Council chief executive Wayne Jack said it’s not the result anyone wanted.

‘‘We’ve been advised by our sportsground turf specialist up in Auckland that the volatile weather conditions have obstructed the opportunity to get this specialised grass grown and we haven’t been able to access the 7600 tonnes of special grade sand we need to lay the carpet in time,’’ Jack said.

‘‘Sadly, despite huge effort on all sides, these are factors outside of our control.

‘‘We’ve explored all avenues and together with New Zealand Cricket, made the very difficult decision that we can’t take the risk on what is a really important match in February.

‘‘We’re now revising all our time frames and looking forward to getting this job done, subject to some good grass-growing weather.’’

It appears likely that the next international fixture to be played in Napier would be in January of 2019, two years since the Twenty20 international between the Black Caps and Bangladesh on January 3 of this year.

Despite the delay, NZ Cricket chief operating officer Anthony Crummy said they are still committed to bringing cricket back to the Hawke’s Bay.

‘‘It’s really disappointing that Napier won’t get to host what is one of our marquee games this summer, but it was important that we informed fans swiftly once we were made aware of the risks,’’ Crummy said.

The relocated ODI at Bay Oval will be a day-night match, and those who had purchased tickets for the Napier match will be refunded.