Cricket Wanganui puts finishing touches on indoor net facility

Cricket Wanganui general manager Jordan Healy rolls his arm over in the new indoor facility, under the watchful eye of Andrew Penn (left) and Mark Lithgow. Photo / Bevan Conley

The long-awaited cricket complex on the top floor of Jubilee Stadium is ready to open - just in time for the school holidays.

It boasts three lanes, each with a 20-metre run-up, and all without the threat of rain ruining training.

A state-of-the-art bowling machine is set to arrive by the end of the month.

Cricket Wanganui chairman Mark Lithgow said it was great to get the facility up and running, especially as the idea of an indoor net in the city had been talked about "for years".

"We've got a school holiday programme coming up over three days, and from mid-August there will be eight- to 10-week programmes for each age group in Whanganui cricket," Lithgow said.

"We've never had that before.

"The aim is to attract new cricketers as well, and hopefully a place like this will do it."

Fellow board member and former Black Cap Andrew Penn said it was during the winter months that cricketers were able to make technical adjustments to their game.

"That's how you improve, and you can't be doing it during the summer," Penn said.

"The key thing is getting it (the facility) used. You can't overstate the importance of something like this for developing young cricketers.

"Our job as board members is to promote the game as much as we can. The more we can expose those 8, 9, and 10-year-olds to this kind of place the better."

Having the opening of the nets coincide with the Black Caps' recent test championship victory was also a positive for Cricket Wanganui, Lithgow said.

"New Zealand has never had a better team, and they are probably going to be pretty good for the next few years.

"It's a really good time to get people involved in cricket and build our foundations - from the younger age groups upwards."

A new head coach, Peter Bowman, will be arriving in Whanganui at the start of August.

Bowman's role would have a particular focus on junior cricket, Lithgow said.

The nets are designed to stop balls interfering with neighbouring practice sessions, no matter how fast they are travelling. Photo / Bevan Conley

"He's been involved in cricket all his life, and he's very passionate about the game.

"At the moment his strength is at the under-15 level and below, but he's very keen to upskill to be a high-performance coach as well.

"We're excited to have him on board."

Penn said coaching was of the utmost importance in a sport as technical as cricket.

"You really drill in those basics at an early age, and that's what we see Peter doing."

There were around 200 kids playing Kiwi cricket in the Whanganui and Rangitikei districts last season, Lithgow said.

"That's the starting point. Then it's about getting them on to hard ball and moving up from there.

"Peter has got a few ideas around that, and he's keen to get those juniors moving up the grades."

The nets in the facility are designed to stop balls interfering in neighbouring practice sessions, no matter how hard they'd been hit or bowled.

Side screens for both white- and red-ball cricket are also in operation, and the self-loading bowling machine offers batsman a chance to practise against spin bowling as well as pace.

Up until now, it wasn't unusual for young representative cricketers to have their first practice on the Wednesday before their first Saturday game, Lithgow said.

"We've played junior rep games in mid-November and we've only had one or two practices. Suddenly we are playing someone like Horowhenua Kapiti, who are usually in pretty good shape.

"They may win that one but by the end of the season we've caught up.

"This should put us up on a more level playing field with the other associations."

Penn said all the clubs involved in Whanganui cricket were "on the same page".

"It'll be interesting to see how the various teams perform in the summer compared to how they've done in the last two or three years, with the benefit of some pre-season training."

As well as hosting training programmes, the facility will be available for the public to hire.

The school holiday programme invites cricketers in Years 5 to 8 on July 13, Years 9 and 10 on July 14, and Years 11 and 13 on July 15.

It is $40 for the day.

For more information email jordan@cricketwanganui.co.nz