Disappointment as Pukekura Park overlooked for T20 cricket summer schedule

Taranaki Cricket says it will fight on for improvements to be made at Pukekura Park after the iconic venue was overlooked for top-flight Super Smash matches this year.

The ground, which has been a staple of the Christmas/New Year’s domestic schedule, has been under increasing scrutiny over the state of its facilities, including players changing rooms, training facilities, and match officials and media facilities.

A number of temporary improvements were made to the ground ahead of 2023’s games but these were not enough to bring the ground up to an acceptable standard.

The scheduling news comes just a few months after New Plymouth District Councillors narrowly voted against an $8m development of a replacement for the structurally compromised Bellringer Pavilion in their recent LTP deliberations.

Instead, councillors voted to allocate $3m from 2030 to investigate and carry out repairs to the existing pavilion or look at cheaper replacement options.

While the councillors’ decision wasn’t directly responsible for the loss of Super Smash games this year, Taranaki Cricket GM Ryan Evans said it was a big frustration after years of inaction around the facilities, and meant it was always in danger of falling off the radar.

“Of course we were very disappointed at the outcome of NPDC’s Long Term Plan deliberations,” Evans said.

“We felt a viable option was put forward that enjoyed public support, and would have gone a long way towards sorting the issues at the park, setting it up for an ongoing future and protecting its legacy.

“But even had that gone through, the writing was on the wall for the immediate future, given the work council proposed was always some years in the future,” he said.

Evans said it was back to the drawing board to an extent, but Taranaki Cricket was now working on what steps it could take in the immediate future to bring the park up to scratch.

“We really feel for our cricket loving residents, long known for packing the park out for the big games, who won’t be able to enjoy Super Smash this year, and we will keep on fighting to return the park to what we believe is its rightful place in the eyes of the sporting world.

“There’s a couple of elections and also LTP’s to be drawn up before the council’s work is due to begin, and we hope to find opportunities to keep working with them to get this necessary work done.”

In the meantime, NZC had given the all clear for Pukekura Park to continue to host 50-over Ford Trophy and Hallyburton Johnstone Shield domestic men’s and women’s matches.

Three Ford Trophy and four HBJ matches will be hosted at the park this summer, which Evans said was great news, and an increase on recent years.

Lance Hamilton, Central Districts Cricket CEO, said he hoped the increased allocation of one-day matches — all of which will be free admission — would soften the blow for the large cohort of fans who always look forward to cricket at Pukekura Park.

“Pukekura Park is renowned as one of the world’s most beautiful cricket grounds, and it’s also home to a highly knowledgeable crowd who enjoy supporting us year after year.

“The (two) opening games and the final round of The Ford Trophy will be key matches for the Stags, and bring the Auckland Aces, Northern Districts and Wellington Firebirds all to town.

“We’ve been able to get two of these fixtures scheduled on a Sunday to make it as easy as possible for people to attend.

“With the Central Hinds, we’ve got twice as many one-dayers at Pukekura Park this season — all weekend fixtures, so there are opportunities to see them play the Auckland Hearts and the Canterbury Magicians.”

Evans added, “We’ll be looking at what we can do to ensure we get people through the gates for these free-entry matches, and we’re looking forward to once again hosting the Central Stags and Hinds at Pukekura Park.”

2024/25 matches scheduled for Pukekura Park are:

Ford Trophy:
Sunday, October 20 vs TBC
Wednesday, October 23 vs TBC
Sunday, February 23 vs TBC

Hallyburton Johnstone Shield:
Saturday, November 30 vs Auckland Hearts
Sunday, December 1 vs Auckland Hearts
Saturday, December 14 vs Canterbury Magicians
Sunday, December 15 vs Canterbury Magicians