Ask any NZ Cricket fan what the number one thing on their wishlist for the future of the game in NZ is and you will hear a resounding “more Test Cricket please!”. With the NZ Teams growing stature on the international stage, you’ve begun to hear the same from international fans as well. It's hard to fathom that the best team in the world will play just 4 tests at home this summer.
NZC are often slagged off for favouring White Ball Cricket in the scheduling each summer, as well as a refusal to host Test Series more than 2 matches.
The crowds this 'summer' have been the best in recent memory, with incredible atmosphere at all four tests - often being close to a “full house” on Weekend Days. The NZ Cricket Fan must be asking themselves “what more do we need to do to get more Test Cricket” - Number One in the world, excellent attendance, awesome atmosphere... surely NZC must see this and want to host more Red Ball?
The real issue however, often unspoken in favour of simply slagging off NZC, is venues to host Test Matches - but not in the way you might think.
We all know NZ punches well above its weight for performance, but the same can also be said for Cricket Venues - In the last 5 years the Black Caps have played at 10 different international venues across all formats. Pretty incredible when you consider that there are just 5 million people in the country. That’s the same as Australia who have five times as many people.
However, across the same time period, NZ have played their 25 home tests at just six different grounds, with 21 of those being played at one of Basin Reserve, Hagley Oval or Seddon Park. In the last two years, Bay Oval has been elevated to Test Status and hosted two tests, with the remaining two split between University Oval and Eden Park
It’s long rumoured that The Basin and Hagley are the only two test venues that turn a profit each summer, with the creation of Bay Oval as a test venue seeming to be a success so far. Seddon Park must break even or be close to it as the third most frequent test venue in this time period.
While it does happen occasionally, hosting two tests in a summer every summer would undoubtedly lead to diminishing returns for the premier venues - particularly if your touring teams aren’t big draws. Anyone who attended the Basin Reserve Bangladesh Test of 2019 will remember very, very poor crowds in comparison to the Sri Lanka Test Earlier in the Summer.
So where does that leave us? Where can NZ host more tests without losing money hand over fist? Why aren't some cities you would expect to host Test Matches being considered.
AUCKLAND
The lack of a test venue in Auckland kills NZC - the great isthmus is home to over a quarter of NZs population, yet they've only held two tests at Eden Park since 2014. The last test was a Day/Night test which they marketed heavily - yet still took a loss by all accounts. Eden Park is a terrible venue as well, with difficult access, poor size and too big to ever have a genuine atmosphere for Tests.
The Western Springs Stadium redevelopment is the “silver bullet” to this problem for NZC - taking an existing concert/speedway venue into a world class cricket stadium, however this keeps being delayed every year and doesn’t seem to be happening any time soon. Until then, Test Cricket looks to be an unlikely event in Auckland.
DUNEDIN
Like Auckland, University Oval in Dunedin has hosted just one test in the past 5 years - a strong indication that it isn’t a money maker. Dunedin is often considered NZs “fourth city” however this thinking is outdated - Dunedin’s population has flatlined in the 21st century and as a result it has been overtaken by many northern cities. Weather is also a challenge, with Dunedin often dark and wet even during summer. An attempt in 2017 to align the Test Match with Otago University's "O Week" seemingly wasn't a success as it has not been repeated.
That being said, University Oval is a superb venue and if NZC could find a way to turn a profit here, it would be a win for all test fans
NAPIER
McClean Park is probably the least favoured ground by fans in all of NZ, with drainage and sunstrike issues memorably delaying games in the early 2010s leading to it falling out of favour in recent years, with it’s last test being in 2012 to abysmal crowds.
Any Test Cricket is a good thing for NZ, but McClean park is certainly down the rung for favoured venues in the minds of fans and likely the pockets of NZC
NELSON
Nelson’s Saxton Oval may be one of the most beautiful grounds in NZ, but has yet to host a test match. In recent years, it has hosted many ODIs to great success but with a small population base it does seem unlikely to be able to sustain a regular Test Match in the NZ Cricket Schedule. In its favour however, Nelson is NZ’s sunniest city, and as a result there’s a good chance that most tests would get 5 full days.
QUEENSTOWN
John Davies Oval is the most beautiful ground in the world, but simply too small for International Cricket.
As you can see from the summary above, it isn’t an issue of enough venues for Test Cricket - it’s quality ones that will allow NZ Cricket host Test Matches once a year and turn a profit. It does seem that unless NZC is willing to make a financial sacrifice, it would be hard to host drastically more Test Cricket in NZ.
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