*** Official New Zealand Domestic Cricket 2011/2012 ***

[Smudge]

Eden Park is an atrocious place for test cricket, and I don't see any reason to return test cricket there, other than population. Although attendances at test matches in Auckland are ****house anyway. Hamilton, Wellington and Dunedin all have specialist venues which are perfect for test cricket and until the Auckland City Council (or whatever it's called now) get off their arses and do something constructive for cricket, Eden Park does not deserve any more tests. For the last 20 years, it could have only been considered a stop-gap measure to play test cricket there - and now with the redevelopments, it appears the boundaries are even worse. One hopes that with the unfortunate events in Christchurch, Canterbury Cricket and the city council pour some money into A venue - be it Lincoln or Hagley Park (QEII is ****ed, I'd imagine).

 

[HeathDavisSpeed]

Agree with that. There's no need to hold test matches at Eden Park or McLean Park when you've got superb test match grounds in other places. The Basin was completely packed to the rafters for the last England test down there.

 

[Flem274*]

You could argue Napier shouldn't host tests until the pitch is halfway fair for bowling.

The Basin is pretty awesome for cricket.

 

[Polo23]

Eden Park is an atrocious place for test cricket, and I don't see any reason to return test cricket there, other than population. Although attendances at test matches in Auckland are ****house anyway. Hamilton, Wellington and Dunedin all have specialist venues which are perfect for test cricket and until the Auckland City Council (or whatever it's called now) get off their arses and do something constructive for cricket, Eden Park does not deserve any more tests. For the last 20 years, it could have only been considered a stop-gap measure to play test cricket there - and now with the redevelopments, it appears the boundaries are even worse. One hopes that with the unfortunate events in Christchurch, Canterbury Cricket and the city council pour some money into A venue - be it Lincoln or Hagley Park (QEII is ****ed, I'd imagine).

I live in Auckland and you're dead right. While I love watching test cricket, Eden Park is not a ground to be playing tests.

 

[Howsie]

Jimmy Neesham moving south should hopefully put an end to Ian Butler playing at seven for Otago, annoyed the hell out of me that.

 

[Athlai]

Yeah Jimmy going to Otago should hopefully see him get a pretty full season of cricket.

 

[Flem274*]

6. de Boorder
7. Butler
8. Neesham

imo.

 

[NZTailender]

Would buy him a beer tbh.

 

[SteveNZ]

Agree with that. There's no need to hold test matches at Eden Park or McLean Park when you've got superb test match grounds in other places. The Basin was completely packed to the rafters for the last England test down there.

Agree with your sentiment as well, but Auckland cannot continue to be starved of Test cricket. It is our biggest population base, therefore potentially our biggest nursery as far as young cricketers are concerned, a bigger revenue base, etc.

Hopefully the redevelopment of the Outer Oval provides an option, because the main pitch is certainly not a Test ground's backside.

 

[Slippaah]

Auckland Cricket

The cricket bureaucracy/coaches in the MA's and NZ Cricket appear well staffed with attractive websites and professional Annual Reports but is their sufficient investment in Elite Youth Cricket aside from the annual age group tournaments,some under the radar academies, and an ICC U 19 tournament team every 2 years? Australia invests hugely with talented teens playing competitive 2 and 3 day cricket ,at State Level, to develop mental application in their skillbase.That takes $$$.When was the last overseas tour by an N Z Cricket age group team ? MA's creating opportunites to hold meetings to discuss junior cricket issues are helpful but...?

Associate countries like Ireland want a slice of the ICC cake at the High (Test Playing Nation) Table and are investing heavily in young cricketers. A Two Tier Test (performance based) Comp is mooted by ICC with N Z picking up the 2nd Tier crumbs with W I ,Zimbabwe and Bangladesh.That's a sad prospect for N Z fans and a reason why recognised test cricket grounds are important. Grounds form part of the ICC appraisal and review process for each country.

Problems v Spin. Send teenage batsmen to a quality Indian academy .Make them play local spinners with no pads on for a couple of days. Bat gets on ball pretty quickly. Send young talent to OZ for a sponsored summer stint with a Sydney/Melbourne 1st Grade side . The proposed domestic U 23 "A" team comp is a positive new step.

Hear what people say about Eden Park and McLean Park but Auckland Cricket,with the population, needs a quality product to pull in sizeable crowds,enliven the game in the big smoke and earn $$$ .Like the Basin a ground with atmosphere and some buzz. Not big but well located. The face of Auckland Rugby has changed since 1990 and so has Auckland Cricket .Diverse cricket market in Auckland now.

A 6 - 8,000 seater with a compact outfield,covered seating built right on to the boundary, some treed grassy banks, ethnic eateries/stalls, safe play area for kids with bat and ball . Facilities multi generational families want for a good day out. Lets compete with the beach. Go Auckland !

 

[Hurricane]

The cricket bureaucracy/coaches in the MA's and NZ Cricket appear well staffed with attractive websites and professional Annual Reports but is their sufficient investment in Elite Youth Cricket aside from the annual age group tournaments,some under the radar academies, and an ICC U 19 tournament team every 2 years? Australia invests hugely with talented teens playing competitive 2 and 3 day cricket ,at State Level, to develop mental application in their skillbase.That takes $$$.When was the last overseas tour by an N Z Cricket age group team ? MA's creating opportunites to hold meetings to discuss junior cricket issues are helpful but...?

Associate countries like Ireland want a slice of the ICC cake at the High (Test Playing Nation) Table and are investing heavily in young cricketers. A Two Tier Test (performance based) Comp is mooted by ICC with N Z picking up the 2nd Tier crumbs with W I ,Zimbabwe and Bangladesh.That's a sad prospect for N Z fans and a reason why recognised test cricket grounds are important. Grounds form part of the ICC appraisal and review process for each country.

Problems v Spin. Send teenage batsmen to a quality Indian academy .Make them play local spinners with no pads on for a couple of days. Bat gets on ball pretty quickly. Send young talent to OZ for a sponsored summer stint with a Sydney/Melbourne 1st Grade side . The proposed domestic U 23 "A" team comp is a positive new step.

Hear what people say about Eden Park and McLean Park but Auckland Cricket,with the population, needs a quality product to pull in sizeable crowds,enliven the game in the big smoke and earn $$$ .Like the Basin a ground with atmosphere and some buzz. Not big but well located. The face of Auckland Rugby has changed since 1990 and so has Auckland Cricket .Diverse cricket market in Auckland now.

A 6 - 8,000 seater with a compact outfield,covered seating built right on to the boundary, some treed grassy banks, ethnic eateries/stalls, safe play area for kids with bat and ball . Facilities multi generational families want for a good day out. Lets compete with the beach. Go Auckland !

Thanks for this update and for posting on this site. Excellent information.

I hope the two tier system doesn't come in. I have posted my thoughts on it before.

 

[Howsie]

Problems v Spin. Send teenage batsmen to a quality Indian academy .Make them play local spinners with no pads on for a couple of days. Bat gets on ball pretty quickly. Send young talent to OZ for a sponsored summer stint with a Sydney/Melbourne 1st Grade side . The proposed domestic U 23 "A" team comp is a positive new step.

Shame it's already been scrapped then huh, one summer and it's been changed back to a "A" tournament where the teams will play a week of 20/20's against each other. Don't worry though, Justin Vaughan is adamant that the longer version of the game is the most important, this change obviously helps prove that

 

[Slippaah]

Howsie

Howsie.Thanks for the heads up. Was not aware of the Policy U turn on the "A" Comp.Just have to be patient I guess.

ICC are starting to move on Grounds standards evaluations and facilities for fans.

ICC news: ICC to debate monitoring of international venues | Cricket News | Cricinfo ICC Site | ESPN Cricinfo

Since the 1990's N Z cricket fans have watched cricket pushed off the ball by Rugby with Super Rugby and the longer rugby season window ,competition for use of major venues etc. Auckland Cricket fans' interests ( eg; Eden Park) have taken a hammering,in recent seasons, for the sake of RWC 2011. There is significant conflict of interest between Rugby and Cricket nationwide so how can anyone realistically wear both sporting codes' hats.

In the past 24 months N Z Cricket has lost established Test Cricket venues at Carisbrook, Lancaster Park sadly it seems to Mother Nature , and now Eden Park No 1 we are told.Thats a lot of N Z cricket history swallowed up.

ICC has to safeguard the game's history, credible player stats etc. and if and when ICC comes waving the ugly ( for N Z ) Two Tier Test proposal N Z will have little of its venue history to fall back on.How many cricket venues will N Z have with facilities meeting the new ICC standards in 2015 ? Cricket has a numeric following far greater than Rugby, and is making massive strides in leading Associate countries as they vie for Test Status. New custom built or remodelled cricket stadia in the UK and Australia and in places as diverse as Dubai,Abu Dhabi,Kuala Lumpur and Shenzhen are superb and the standard of the new model which ICC will require. The outfield and pitches are improving given the climatic challenges cricket grounds in the Middle East face.Just look at some of the golf courses there.A lot of helpful input and expertise flows from N Z into these new outfields and pitches.

If 2nd tier status did eventuate ( N Z are currently 8th in the Test Rankings) Flag Man might be keen enough to travel to Bulawayo Athletic Club and Bangabandhu National Stadium as regular away Test Match Venues but the cachet for N Z supporters and attraction to aspiring Kiwi cricketers of venues such as Lords, Trent Bridge ,the Gabba and the MCG will be disappointing to watch removed from their grasp.

 

[Smudge]

Howsie.Thanks for the heads up. Was not aware of the Policy U turn on the "A" Comp.Just have to be patient I guess.

ICC are starting to move on Grounds standards evaluations and facilities for fans.

ICC news: ICC to debate monitoring of international venues | Cricket News | Cricinfo ICC Site | ESPN Cricinfo

Since the 1990's N Z cricket fans have watched cricket pushed off the ball by Rugby with Super Rugby and the longer rugby season window ,competition for use of major venues etc. Auckland Cricket fans' interests ( eg; Eden Park) have taken a hammering,in recent seasons, for the sake of RWC 2011. There is significant conflict of interest between Rugby and Cricket nationwide so how can anyone realistically wear both sporting codes' hats.

In the past 24 months N Z Cricket has lost established Test Cricket venues at Carisbrook, Lancaster Park sadly it seems to Mother Nature , and now Eden Park No 1 we are told.Thats a lot of N Z cricket history swallowed up.

ICC has to safeguard the game's history, credible player stats etc. and if and when ICC comes waving the ugly ( for N Z ) Two Tier Test proposal N Z will have little of its venue history to fall back on.How many cricket venues will N Z have with facilities meeting the new ICC standards in 2015 ?.

Just a question - have you actually ever been to Carisbrook? It was a ****hole for watching cricket and the boundaries were average on the sides. University Oval is a vast improvement, and with the building of the new Forsyth Barr Stadium, Carisbrook was always going to go. We should be celebrating the fact we're moving towards specialist test venues, rather than the mish-mash rubbish we've had to deal with in regards to Eden Park, Lancaster Park and Carisbrook (even McLean Park).

 

[Athlai]

The University Oval is an excellent ground and has already given us some top class cricket.

 

[Howsie]

Cricket: Adams leads tallies again - Cricket - NZ Herald News

Adams has a few choice words on the standard of first class cricket in this country

I was disappointed with the level of first-class cricket. Standards have slipped. There's not a lot more you can say. You can't slag the players off for focusing more on T20 with such [financial] prizes for success

 

[Flem274*]

No domestic preseason is complete without an Andre Adams rant.

Very worrying he thinks we're that far behind England, though not surprising in the slightest.

 

[Athlai]

Div 2 > NZ

Franklin is God

Also Jeets

 

[AucklandCricket]

Andre Adams

Cricket: Adams leads tallies again - Cricket - NZ Herald News

Adams has a few choice words on the standard of first class cricket in this country

Hard to tell whether he was talking about first class cricket in general or Auckland's season. Clearly with titles in both shorter forms of the game and the complete opposite in our Plunket Shield results, it's an area he saw as being disappointing. This sentiment was felt by the whole team though and is a definite area for improvement.

To my recollection no MA has ever won all three titles. What's your opinion? Pick your strengths and target specific format titles or play to perform the best in all three formats?

 

[NZTailender]

University Oval is awes and will only get better. 2nd best Test venue in the country for mine.