A hybrid turf was recently laid at McLean Park.GETTY IMAGES
The first of a planned five drop-in cricket pitches "is about to go in at McLean Park," ahead of a season during which the ground will host three one-day internationals and a Sri Lanka warmup game ahead of the test series against New Zealand, according to Hamish Bidwell of STUFF. Drainage problems mean "it will be two years in January" since int'l cricket was played at McLean Park. But the "entire outfield has been ripped up and replaced, with a new hybrid turf sitting atop various layers of sand and stone designed to ensure a soggy outfield" does not cause "the abandonment of any more games in Napier." But the plans for the five-pitch wicket block "are probably the most exciting development." Clay from the middle strip was dug up in April to "help in the construction of the ground's first portable pitches." Central Districts Cricket Association CEO Pete de Wet said that four drop-in wickets "are currently being cultivated," but will not be used when the int'l players come to town. De Wet: "What we'll probably do is play domestic cricket on the drop-in in the first instance, so the next couple of years, just to test it and make sure it performs at the level that it needs to" (STUFF, 8/1).
