Cricket: South Island misses out on Indian tour

India will play tests at Eden Park and the Basin Reserve next year, but the South Island will miss out on seeing some of the world's best cricketers at all.

The two tests, plus the five one dayers between the Black Caps and India will all be held in the North Island in January and February.

After a lengthy hiatus, Eden Park gets its second test in as many years.

Auckland Cricket boss Mark Cameron believes they can get between 40,000 and 50,000 fans to the test.

"We're not at the stage now where we're looking to sell out Eden Park which is 45,000 seats in a day but getting that sort of crowd over five days is realistic for us.''

The England test there earlier this year attracted 38,000 fans.

Matches in the ANZ International Series v India:
1st ODI: Sunday, January 19, McLean Park, Napier
2nd ODI: Wednesday, January 22, Seddon Park, Hamilton
3rd ODI: Saturday, January 25, Eden Park, Auckland
4th ODI: Tuesday, January 28, Seddon Park, Hamilton
5th ODI: Friday, January 31, Westpac Stadium, Wellington
Two-day warm-up game: Feb 2-3, Cobham Oval, Whangarei
1st Test: Feb 6-10, Eden Park, Auckland
2nd Test: Feb 14-18, Basin Reserve, Wellington