CD Stags skipper William Young said he ducked for cover during the earthquake. PHOTO/FILE
THEY reacted differently to it in their Wellington hotel in the central business district but none of the Central Districts Stags cricketers is about to forget in a hurry the 7.5 magnitude earthquake just after midnight.
"I felt them [earthquakes] before but last night was a massive quake, that's for sure," said Devon Hotel-sponsored CD captain William Young, of Napier, yesterday as the team tried to relax at their Quality Hotel Wellington rooms in Cuba St.
Young was in a two-storey building in Christchurch during the February 22, 2011, quake which registered 6.3 on Richter scale at 12.51pm and claimed 185 lives.
"That quake was quite more violent and didn't last that long but this one was rolling and felt like it was just going for ages."
He was asleep with roommate and stand-in skipper Tom Bruce on the eighth floor after returning on Sunday from Nelson where he was captaining New Zealand A against Pakistan in a three-day affair that was washed out without a ball bowled.
"I was out of the bed and ducking for cover," says the adroit batsman who turns 24 on November 22. "Tom Bruce was just lying there like nothing happened."
Young persuaded Bruce to get out of bed before the pair went next door to find batsmen Ben Smith and Greg Hay "huddled under their room's doorway".
Some of the Stags were on the seventh floor.
With the building swaying due to aftershocks, some players opted to remain in their rooms while others made a beeline for the hotel foyer.
"A big group of 8 to 10 of us congregated on the street for a while because it felt safer outside than inside," he said.
They returned to their rooms about 1.30am but the reverberations meant the earthquake had robbed them of their sleep. Some of them stole a few winks during the wee hours of the morning.
The cricketers turned on the TV after a restless night to find authorities were imploring people to stay out of the CBD.
Mercifully the players found traction with cellphones so they sent texts to family and friends to reassure them of their safety as well as checking to see others were fine in the scattered CD catchment area as well as down south as far as Christchurch.
For the Heinrich Malan-coached Stags it was becoming increasingly clear the four-day
Plunket Shield game starting against the Wellington Firebirds yesterday at 10.30am was going to be postponed to today although the weather forecast in the capital city for the rest of the week is bleak with gusty northerlies whipping rain.
CD general manager Lance Hamilton said the players had generally coped quite well with the situation although it was the first time for South African-born Malan to experience an earthquake.
Hamilton was more concerned about his partner, Alana, and their two daughters, Olivia, and Lauren, who live at their coastal home in Clive.
"They drove to Taradale to hang out there because of the tsunami threat."
Young said Hamilton yesterday informed players at 10.30am that a structural engineer had been sent to the Basin Reserve to inspect the main RA Vance Stand at the ground to ensure the old structure, which is under construction with scaffolding around it, was deemed safe for players and fans.
"As far as I'm aware it's ticked off so we'll be heading off to the ground tomorrow to start day one," he said, revealing Hamilton had deferred their flights by a day.
He remained optimistic of some game time provided the weather played its part.
"There's a big front coming so there's forecast for rain tomorrow but we'll play it by ear."
He didn't envisage any Stags would be "severely traumatised by the earthquake" and expected them to be fine today after a good night's sleep.
Young said it was disappointing not to have played against world No 2 Pakistan but the former NZ U19 captain was keen to return to the domestic scene to continue his campaign for a Black Caps berth.
The Stags, who last won the first-class title in 2012-13, are fifth on the table after three rounds with two draws and a loss in the six-team major association red-ball competition. The Firebirds are second on the table.
Table-topping Northern Districts Knights were 324-5 against defending champions Auckland at Mt Maunganui yesterday while the Canterbury Kings were 405-5 against the Otago Volts at stumps in Invercargill.
Wellington Firebirds (from): Michael Papps (c), Brent Arnel, Hamish Bennett, Tom Blundell (wk), Matt McEwan, Iain McPeake, Hamish Marshall, Stephen Murdoch, Jeetan Patel, Michael Pollard, Luke Ronchi, Matt Taylor, Luke Woodcock.
Coach: Bruce Edgar.
Central Districts Stags (from): William Young (c), Doug Bracewell, Tom Bruce, Dane Cleaver (wk), Liam Dudding, Greg Hay, Ajaz Patel, Seth Rance, Mitch Renwick, Jesse Ryder, Ben Smith, Blair Tickner, Ben Wheeler.
Coach: Heinrich Malan.