McLean Park prepares to host Black Caps in double Christmas cracker

Josh Clarkson is getting a chance to show what he's capable of against Bangladesh. Photo / Photosport

It’s all hands on deck as the Central Districts Cricket Association (CDCA) attempts to hold four televised cricket matches in two different places.

Saturday at Napier’s McLean Park, when New Zealand hosts Bangladesh in a one-day international, is the easy part.

The two teams met in Nelson on Wednesday, when the Black Caps emerged seven-wicket winners after scoring 296/3 in reply to Bangladesh’s innings of 291.

Saxton Oval is under Central Districts’ auspices too, meaning Lance Hamilton staged an international match there for the first time in his tenure as CDCA chief executive.

“We had 4000-odd spectators there, the ground looked a picture and it was a full-on, busy day for us,” Hamilton said.

“Napier’s a little bit easier to set up. It’s ready for broadcast, for instance, whereas at Saxton there’s a lot of temporary overlay required for the setup.”

Only Hamilton’s not in Napier to oversee that. No, he spent Thursday in Palmerston North preparing Fitzherbert Park for the Central Hinds and Stags Twenty20 Super Smash double-header against their respective Northern Districts counterparts on December 27.

And it’s in Palmerston North where Hamilton will be again on December 27, when New Zealand and Bangladesh meet in a Twenty20 international at McLean Park.

“It’s a busy little period with the one-day international on the 23rd and then the T20 game on the 27th,” said Hamilton.

“But on that same day, we’re delivering two Super Smash games in Palmerston North.

“Delivering televised matches in two cities on the same day is, for a small team like ours, going to be something big for us to pull off.”

The only option is to split the CDCA’s resources and have some staff, including Hamilton, in Palmerston North and the rest back with the Black Caps in Napier.

Hamilton’s reward will then be to help dismantle all the signage, the commentary box and every other bit of paraphernalia at Fitzherbert Park and set it back up in New Plymouth, where the Stags and Hinds each play televised games on both December 29 and 30.

Ticket sales for the upcoming clashes at McLean Park are modest. Hamilton says about 1600 tickets have sold for Saturday’s one-day game and 2000 for the Twenty20 on December 27.

But the quality of cricket in this white-ball series between New Zealand and Bangladesh has been excellent, with Hawke’s Bay-domiciled Black Caps opening batter Will Young to the fore and Central Hawke’s Bay Cricket Club allrounder Josh Clarkson making an encouraging first foray into international cricket.

“The depth in New Zealand has really shone [in this series], particularly in the batting department,” Hamilton said.

“Great to see Youngy making the most of his opportunities at the top of the order and, from a personal perspective, it’s just so exciting to have Clarky involved.”

Clarkson is Nelson-raised and Hamilton estimated 2000 of the 4000-strong crowd at Saxton Oval on Wednesday had come to see their former hometown hero bat.

Such was the quality of New Zealand’s batting, including a knock of 89 from Young, that Clarkson didn’t get that chance.

Hamish Bidwell joined Hawke’s Bay Today in 2022 and works out of the Hastings newsroom.