Wellington Trust given May 31 deadline for Basin upgrade

Wellington's Stadium Trustees have been given a deadline of May 31 to provide assurances to the board of New Zealand Cricket that the Basin Reserve will receive a substantial upgrade before next summer.

NZC chief executive Martin Snedden said that unless those assurances are given Wellington, and the Basin Reserve specifically, will be in danger of losing the Boxing Day Test.

That requirement has been sent to the Trustees after the debacle that occurred during the second National Bank Series Test against England last month.

The scoreboard at the ground became an international laughing stock with mis-aligned letters and dreadfully inappropriate placements making it almost impossible to read at times.

The pitch, after years of similar occurrences, suffered yet more problems with drainage and seepage of rain beneath the covers, especially onto the previously used pitches. Play was unnecessarily delayed while mopping up occurred at nature's pace. The pitch itself also needs to get back to the harder and faster model previously associated with the ground and of the type NZC are trying to achieve at all their international grounds.

Public and player amenities, especially the changing rooms beneath the R A Vance Stand, are also in need of a significant upgrade.

Wellington has become the home of the Boxing Day Test matches since they were first introduced against India in the summer of 1998/99. They have proved very popular and have always attracted good-sized crowds.

Even a match against the acknowledged minnows of the world game, Bangladesh, was well supported, once the game was able to start after rain delays.

The natural blooming of the pohutakawa trees on the banks around the ground have seen the Test labelled, 'The Pohutakawa Test' and the scene has been among the most colourful in the New Zealand cricket.