Cricket: Will Aces' clay yield full house?

MEN AT WORK: Hayden Williams (left) and Luke Newbold, from Field TurfNZ, work on the drop-in cricket wickets at Nelson Park, Napier, for use at McLean Park. PHOTO/Paul Taylor

It's bad enough they are snapping up marquee properties but now the Aucklanders are going to have a rite of passage to prime real estate at premier cricketing parks around the country as well.

That, I'm afraid, includes McLean Park, Napier, which is at the cusp of becoming a box seat for the Auckland Aces when the drop-in wickets become operational from March next year when the Central Districts Stags will host the a four-day, first-class Plunket Shield match against the Wellington Firebirds.

Where it becomes tricky is that the Aces will have "home advantage" never mind where they play because it is understood New Zealand Cricket wants consistency in the temperament of wickets around the country not just for domestic fixtures but also international ones.

Napier City Council team leader project management Jamie Goodsir says the manufactured wickets will have Patumahoe clay from outskirts of Pukekohe in South Auckland. "It's the standard clay that will be used up and down the country," says Goodsir of a soil whose properties offer generous pace and bounce but tends to be more delicate and unpredictable than other varieties.

The Waikare clay from Canterbury has reportedly appealed but Patumahoe is seen as a cheaper option in terms of preparation, shipping and maintenance.

The southern clay has been seen as a safer option because curators can get away with flaws for an adequate wicket but with Patumahoe the preparation is more delicate. Get it right, though, and it'll be humming.

"Phil was quite keen to use our Tangoio clay but we're not going to use that so the main block at McLean Park is Patumahoe clay," says Goodsir of head groundsman Phil Stoyanoff.

So what's wrong with Tangoio clay, which possesses similar characteristics to Patumahoe?

"Phil was thinking we might have gone with a couple of regional wickets but what they [NZ Cricket] are really looking at is international stuff so they just want consistency of wickets in different parts of the country."

It is understood it's not easy to get consent to obtain Tangoio clay these days, which has always been the choice at McLean Park.

Rye has been the choice of grass here but a few curators around the country have experimented with a topping of couch.

Needless to say, Stoyanoff and his staff are unlikely to become too adventurous considering it'll be a new sandpit for them and all they'll want to do is "get their feet under the table".

Goodsir says two Patumahoe trays have been bedded but the goal was to have six blocks at their disposal.

A sand-and-grass tray will fill the hole at the park during the winter rugby season. It will provide better traction for rugby boot sprigs, as opposed to having clay in that hole.

"Come cricket time, the sand tray goes out and the clay tray goes in.

"Phil's funny eh, he doesn't like those rugby boys," says a jovial Goodsir of the damage rugby boots do to the turf. "Yeah, he likes his cricket but no we have to accommodate both because McLean Park is such a fantastic venue with its great climate so we're quite fortunate here."

What boggles the layman's mind is how on earth they will transplant the 20m long by 3m wide blocks from the Nelson Park nursery across to McLean Park?

Red Steel company's 30m-long transporter in Mersey St, Napier, will be the camel around January 17.

"Unfortunately we won't be using them for the Chapple-Hadlee Series match or the South Africa one," he says, revealing Stoyanoff will put the blocks through the spin-dry cycle should Napier win the right to host a few Under-19 World Cup matches in February 2018.

The council also is establishing a new net practice zone at Nelson Park as part of the revamp.

Boosting the intensity of the floodlights at McLean Park also is on the agenda.

"I don't think our lux is quite up to standard for international cricket so I think they are putting in LED lights so it's going to really rock and roll for cricket with Napier City Council getting behind bringing more international games to McLean Park."

For the record, the Basin Reserve in Wellington has had Patumahoe clay on its block for years so one can argue even history will favour the Firebirds when they break new ground at McLean Park against the Stags on March 14.