Blair Christiansen prepares the Eden Park pitch for the Cricket World Cup Black Caps clash.
Blair Christiansen prepares the Eden Park pitch for the Cricket World Cup Black Caps clash.
Blair Christiansen was a golf pro hopeful from Rodney when he first visited Eden Park during the 1992 Cricket World Cup, never dreaming he would be the stadium's head groundsman - turf manager in modern lingo - when the tournament returned 23 years later.
The 41-year-old started at Eden Parkin 2000, and has been in charge for the past 18 months with a regular crew of about seven. He chats to the Weekend Herald on the eve of today's highly anticipated clash between New Zealand and Australia.
The ICC wanted to know the Herald's line of questioning.
There are clear instructions on what can be talked about with regard to the pitch. I can't say anything about how I think it will play, for obvious reasons to do with the betting problems.
Are you instructed on how to prepare your pitches?
Not any more. Maybe before my time but every ground in the country has its own personality and that's how New Zealand Cricket wants it. My philosophy is I don't want to tailor pitches to individuals; I want the best players to excel. We set aside three [drop-in pitch] trays for the cup and we knew six months ago which was allocated for each game here.
Do you get to enjoy the matches?
When the weather is fine, but if you see a forecast like 'mainly fine with afternoon and evening showers' and you've got a day/night game, it's hard to relax. We are ready with the covers. It's a bit like an F1 pitstop and everyone has their roles. No matter what the game, I say to the guys we must always be the best we can be. Then when it comes to a big game, we're not like a possum caught in the headlights.
Not the rugby guys - I say hi to Richie McCaw but he wouldn't know who I am. But because cricketers are very interested in the preparation and likely performance of the pitch there's so much more interaction with them.
Most memorable players?
[Pakistan's] Shoaib Akhtar was one of my favourites to talk to - just the stories he tells, although I can't repeat them here. He is an absolute character and really down to earth, a real guy, which you don't expect superstars to be. Some of [West Indian] Chris Gayle's training is very interesting. He does a lot of sitting down - he'll go and sit in the shade and watch his mates train. But he plays heaps of football.
Blair loves things being square, parallel, symmetric. File Photo / Paul Estcourt
I'm told you are quite obsessive ...
I am becoming more tolerant, although my wife says I'm not. Everyone knows what I'm like, the perfectionist. Good enough is not good enough.
An example is ...
I love things being square, parallel, symmetric. I never use a frame for the creases. I only string-line them so they are done as a pair and line up perfectly, as opposed to doing one and then the other. Sometimes the ANZ signs aren't perfectly lined up or look a bit skew-whiff on TV which really upsets me. Hey, I'm a Virgo.
Is there something you would love to change in your job ...
I'll celebrate when all ground signs are virtual. Painted signs are the bane of my life. The paint is fairly friendly on the grass, but when you wash the signs off it ruins the profile of the soil. Those areas don't drain so well and eventually don't perform so well. It's worse at Eden Park because Auckland attracts more sponsorship than elsewhere.
I got back from smoko during a televised Shell Cup match in 2001 to find an umpire trying to stop a sprinkler with his hand and foot during play. The old system used to turn on to signal it had found a failure.
A multi-purpose ground must present challenges.
Three years ago we had a day/night cricket game against South Africa on Saturday, and the Warriors played Manly the next day. It wasn't a nightmare because there was no time to sleep. I remember the Warriors running out ... the next thing I woke up and parachutes were coming down at halftime.
Did you have a childhood sports hero?
I liked Martin Crowe a lot and when I first came to Auckland I worked at Cornwall, where he played. He's a good guy although I was pretty awestruck at the time. His dad was the club president and one of my referees in my early working career.
