Cricket: NZ men’s A squad to train at Hastings Regional Sports Park

Central Districts Cricket Association chief executive Lance Hamilton inside the new indoor grass training facility. Photo / Paul Taylor

Summer has arrived early this week at Hawke’s Bay’s Mitre 10 Park with New Zealand Cricket (NZC) sending a men’s A squad to Hastings to take advantage of the world-class facilities on offer.

Players, including Central Stag Josh Clarkson and Black Caps such as Otago’s Dean Foxcroft and Canterbury’s Cole McConchie, have come to Hawke’s Bay this week for the first of two August training camps.

As well as having their accommodation, gym and swimming pool at the sports park, they’ve been able to use the hockey pitches for fielding practice.

But most importantly, they have had access to the Rodney Green Foundation indoor cricket nets and the impressive outdoor “greenhouse” facility, home to 16 grass pitches.

Hawke's Bay Regional Sports Park cricket nets. Photo / Supplied

Clarkson said it has been great to welcome players to a facility he knows well.

“I think Central Districts have been waiting for this sort of opportunity for a long time and it’s awesome to have a New Zealand A camp here.

“We’ve got two camps here and it’s awesome to be training on grass at this time of year.”

NZC chief executive Scott Weenink said the covered turf training facility was part of a NZC strategic plan to enable players to train year-round on turf wickets.

“We currently have four of these facilities in New Zealand, and we plan to build two more to ensure we have full coverage across the New Zealand cricket network.

“We believe this cutting-edge high-performance technology will continue to put us at the forefront of innovation in developing world-class cricketers.”

Central Districts Cricket Association chief executive Lance Hamilton

said the surfaces had been given “really positive feedback” by players.

“It’s amazing to think with the weather we’ve been having in the lead-up and then the cold, frosty weather we’ve been having in the last week or so, that to be on grass on the first week in August is unbelievable.

“It bodes well for the future.

“These facilities are amazing around what they offer us around skill development and stuff like that, especially local kids and development and pathway players getting access to the facilities that we’ve got at the Regional Sports Park now. It’s a great time to be involved in cricket.”

Hamilton is hoping that the August camps are the start of NZC’s visits to Hastings.

“It was amazing that NZC invested in these structures around the network.

“Given we’re a primarily top-down funded sport, we’re so reliant on the Black Caps and White Ferns doing well and being on television and being successful, so NZC have invested in hopefully their own future as well by creating these facilities which are going to help to accelerate the development of our players.”