University Oval, Dunedin

For the Dunedin sports ground often referred to simply as "The Oval", see Kensington Oval, Dunedin.
University Oval
"Varsity Oval"

University Oval and grandstand, during a test between New Zealand and Pakistan in 2009
Former names Logan Park Oval
Location Dunedin, New Zealand
Coordinates 45°51′57″S 170°31′31″E / 45.86583°S 170.52528°E / -45.86583; 170.52528Coordinates: 45°51′57″S 170°31′31″E / 45.86583°S 170.52528°E / -45.86583; 170.52528
Owner Dunedin City Council
Capacity 3500 (can be increased to 6000 by use of temporary seating)
Surface Grass
Construction
Broke ground 1913
Opened 1920
Renovated 1979
Expanded 2004, 2012
Tenants
Otago Cricket Association
Otago Volts
Otago University Rugby Football Club
Ground information
End names
Southern End
Northern End
International information
First Test 4–6 January 2008: New Zealand v Bangladesh
Last Test 10–14 December 2015: New Zealand v Sri Lanka
First ODI 8 February 2010: New Zealand v Bangladesh
Last ODI 26 February 2015: Afghanistan v Scotland
As of 9 December 2015
Source: Cricinfo
Otago host Northern Districts at the University Oval in February 2007.

The University Oval is a sports ground located at Logan Park, Dunedin, New Zealand, and owned by the Dunedin City Council. The ground was originally owned by the University of Otago, but ownership was transferred to the city council when a redevelopment was completed in the early 2000s.

The ground is the home of both the Otago Cricket Association and the University of Otago Rugby Football Club, and is also used as a training base for the Highlanders Rugby Football team. The University Oval hosted the first game where the Umpire Decision Review System was used. It was that third test between Pakistan v New Zealand when it was first used in international cricket.

Facilities

A media complex, which consists of television and radio commentary rooms, is situated at the northern end of the ground. Temporary scaffolding for television cameras is built at both ends of the ground (above the media complex, and on the bank at the southern end) when required. A historic grandstand is located at the southern end of the ground, and an electronic scoreboard on the north-eastern side.

The grandstand complex includes changing rooms, members’ rooms, lounges and bars, players’ viewing areas, a medical room, kitchens, offices, umpires’ rooms, a canteen and shop, media rooms and storage rooms. A building attached to the rear hosts the University Rugby Club.

International Cricket

First Test

The University Oval became New Zealand's seventh test ground when it hosted its first test match on 4 January 2008, between New Zealand and Bangladesh. This was Dunedin's first Test match for ten years. NZ$6 million was spent refurbishing the University Oval and it has now replaced Carisbrook as Dunedin's test-cricket venue.[1]

Just one month prior to the Test match, a State Championship match between Auckland and Otago, which was scheduled to last four days, ended in less than two due to an under-prepared pitch. Auckland scored 94 and 128 and Otago 170 and 54 for 4.[2] Auckland Coach, Mark O'Donnell, had this to say about the pitch:

"It was an unmitigated cock-up and a disgraceful wicket. I've been five times to [University Oval] in the last five years and on each occasion it's been substandard. They just haven't got it right. If you'd put a test attack on that surface you'd probably have killed someone once the divots dried out."[3]

O'Donnell also said that those claiming that the pitch was not at fault and that poor batting had played a large part in proceedings were "deluding themselves".

As a result, New Zealand Cricket sent its chief turf assessor, Jarrod Carter, to Dunedin to help the local groundsman, Tom Tamati, prepare the test pitch.[4] Although the University Oval's first test finished inside three days that was largely attributed to poor batting by most of the Bangladeshis rather than to the nature of the pitch: New Zealand scored 357 and the Bangladeshi openers had a 161-run partnership in the second innings. After the match Daniel Vettori, New Zealand's captain, said:

"Everything about the whole setup was fantastic, apart from the size of the boundaries. It was a little bit farcical. They were just too small. If you bowled to [Australian batsmen] Matthew Hayden or Adam Gilchrist it would be a tough day as a spinner. Aside from that, if they can sort it out I couldn't rate it higher. It can be one of the premier test venues."[5]

Second Test

From 11 to 15 December 2008, New Zealand played the West Indies at the University Oval. The match was ruined by rain. The ground's drainage and the ability of the ground staff to cope with rain were criticized.

Dylan Cleaver, writing in the NZ Herald under the headline "Dunedin not fit to stage a test" stated:

"At Brisbane, it rained so hard The Gabba was reduced to a lake. The next morning, play started on time at 10am. Yesterday, despite there being nary a spittle of rain since the previous evening, a ball was not delivered until 2.45pm. That borders on farcical. Until such time as the Otago Cricket Association or New Zealand Cricket invests in a decent drainage system and super-soppers, the University Oval should not host another test."[6]

Dylan further described the University Oval as a "club ground".

Ross Dykes, the Otago Cricket Association chief executive, said the article was insulting to Dunedin, the University Oval and the groundstaff. He confirmed the ground had drainage problems, because it had been built on reclaimed land, but rejected criticism of New Zealand Cricket or the ground staff:

"We had a huge amount of rainfall and I think we probably did everything we could. ... It has to be appreciated that this ground is the old Pelichet Bay, so it is reclaimed land. ... When you get that amount of rainfall, you get to a point where you can clear off the surface moisture but by trying to get more out you only end up dragging more up."[7]

Third Test

The University Oval hosted its third Test match from 24 to 28 November 2009, against Pakistan. Play was briefly interrupted by rain on the second day, and bad light plagued several of the evening sessions, but the problems of the previous Tests did not emerge. The match proved to be a cliffhanger, with a win to either side, a draw or even a tie still possible as the fifth day entered its final session. New Zealand eventually won by 32 runs, taking Pakistan's last five wickets for 54 runs in the final session of day five. The Test was hailed by some as the test of the year, notably by Sambit Bal writing for Cricinfo:

"Dunedin provided almost everything. The drama. The twists. The contest between bat and ball. Swing and seam and pace. Stirring batting. Wickets falling in a heap and then the batsmen fighting back. ... Easily it was the best Test of the year: if it failed to move you, cricket will be never be your game."[8]

Fourth Test

The fourth Test match played at the University Oval saw New Zealand face South Africa from 7 to 11 March 2012. The two sides were evenly matched, with New Zealand gaining a slender first innings lead of 35 runs, scoring 273 to South Africa's 238. However, the Proteas rallied in their second innings, scoring 435-5d. with captain Graeme Smith, Jacques Kallis and Jacques Rudolph all scoring centuries. Chasing a target of 401 to win, New Zealand reached 137/2 at close of play on day 4, setting up a tantalising end to the Test match. Unfortunately, however, no play was possible on the final day due to rain, and the match ended in a draw.[9]

Fifth Test

The fifth Test match at the University Oval was contested between New Zealand and England from March 6 to 10, 2013. It was the first test in a three match series. New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum won the toss and elected to bowl, however there was no play on Day 1 due to rain.[10] A poor batting display from England saw them dismissed for 167 on Day 2, with Neil Wagner and left-arm spinner Bruce Martin (on debut) each taking 4 wickets for New Zealand. New Zealand then racked up a huge lead, declaring at 460 for 9. Debutant opener Hamish Rutherford scored an aggressive 171 and Brendon McCullum struck 74 from 59 deliveries, while James Anderson took 4 wickets for England. The English then went into survival mode and managed to hold on for a draw, scoring 421 for 6 by the close of play on Day 5. England's opening pair of Alastair Cook and Nick Compton each scored centuries, while night-watchman Steven Finn batted for almost 5 hours to score 56, his maiden test 50.[11]

Crowd attendance was 22,188 for the match, including the rained-out first day. [12]

Sixth Test

The sixth test match at the University Oval was contested between New Zealand and the West Indies from December 3 to 7 2013. West Indies won the toss and chose to bowl first. A classy batting display from Ross Taylor and Brendon McCullum propped up New Zealand's first innings. Taylor scored his maiden double century and was unbeaten on 217 when New Zealand declared for 609 for 9. West Indies was bowled out in the first innings for 213 and was forced to follow on but Darren Bravo scored his maiden double century in reply which led them to a safe score of 507. Chasing a target of 112 on day 5, New Zealand's top order crumbled against West Indian spinner Shane Shillingford and they were reduced to 44 for 4 but was lifted up by Taylor and Corey Anderson to 79 for 4, 33 runs away from victory before rain forced an early draw.

Seventh Test

The seventh test match at the University Oval will be contested between New Zealand and Sri Lanka in December 2015[13] .

Eighth Test

The eighth test match at the University Oval will be contested between New Zealand and Pakistan in November 2016.

Test Hosted

Team (A) Team (B) Winner Margin Year
 New Zealand  Bangladesh  New Zealand By 9 wickets 2008
 New Zealand  West Indies Drawn 2008
 New Zealand  Pakistan  New Zealand By 32 runs 2009
 New Zealand  South Africa Drawn 2012
 New Zealand  England Drawn 2013
 New Zealand  West Indies Drawn 2013
 New Zealand  Sri Lanka  New Zealand By 122 runs 2015
 New Zealand  Pakistan 2016

ODIs Hosted

Team (A) Team (B) Winner Margin Year
 New Zealand  Bangladesh  New Zealand By 5 wickets 2010
 New Zealand  Zimbabwe  New Zealand By 90 runs 2012
 New Zealand  Sri Lanka  New Zealand By 108 runs 2015
 New Zealand  Sri Lanka  New Zealand By 120 runs 2015
 New Zealand  Scotland  New Zealand By 3 wickets 2015
 Afghanistan  Sri Lanka  Sri Lanka By 4 wickets 2015
 Afghanistan  Scotland  Afghanistan By 1 wicket 2015

See also

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Cricket: Black Caps check out Dunedin’s University Oval
  2. ↑ Otago v Auckland 3 & 4 Dec 2007
  3. ↑ Leggat, David (10 December 2007). "Cricket: Dunedin debacle still disgusts O'Donnell". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 12 September 2011.
  4. ↑ Leggat, David (3 January 2008). "Cricket: Fingers crossed for the University pitch". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 12 September 2011.
  5. ↑ Leggat, David (7 January 2008). "Cricket: Extend boundaries and Dunedin is perfect, says Vettori". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 12 September 2011.
  6. ↑ Cleaver, Dylan (14 December 2008). "Dunedin not fit to stage a test". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 12 September 2011.
  7. ↑ Cricinfo: Questions over facilities after washout
  8. ↑ Cricinfo:There's nothing quite like test cricket. Retrieved 1 December 2009
  9. ↑ Cricinfo Match Scorecard
  10. ↑ McGlashan, Andrew. "Opening day washed out". ESPNCcricinfo. ESPN EMEA. Retrieved 9 April 2013.
  11. ↑ "1st Test: New Zealand v England at Dunedin, Mar 6-10, 2013 Cricket Scorecard". ESPNcricinfo. ESPN EMEA. Retrieved 9 April 2013.
  12. ↑ Meikle, Hayden (11 March 2013). "Dunedin tipped to get another test next year". Otago Daily Times. Retrieved 9 April 2013.
  13. ↑ "ODI cricket returns to Basin Reserve". ESPNCricinfo. Retrieved 27 August 2015.

References

External links

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