10 Great Things About The Basin (as of Sunday)
The chaps' toilet at the southern end. If you get your own delivery position right, you can go for a slash and keep your eyes zoomed in on the cricketing action through the concrete blocks above the urinal. Should be on every visitor's itinerary.
Stephen Fleming. A classy innings of 88 from a terrific player. Great to see him fielding out in the deep for much of the day as well. Neal Parlane's cameo-cum-stellar 94* was excellent to watch as well, as the pair put on 130 in 21 overs under the capital sun.
The scoreboard. It's come a hell of a long way since Jeremy Coney magnificently described it as looking like a ransom note, a story retold so often it is now a cliche. Next month it will be complemented by a replay screen as well - magnificent, and a timely move into the 21st century.
Ron Snowden on Radio Sport. Nice to hear Uncle Ron back on the wireless, his distinctive deep leather-jacketed drawl providing a great soundtrack to us all on the bank.
The bloke in the grey stripy suit pants, bearing a walkie-talkie, who greeted us like a maitre d' at the gate - a smile and a cheery comment about having a ripper day and so on. Possibly the marketing bloke from Cricket Wellington - well played mate.
No surcharge. Sure it wasn't a public holiday, but the caterer at Eden Park on Boxing Day saw fit to whack on an extra 'public holiday surcharge' for the garbage masquerading as food on offer at the first one-dayer. Considering people don't have a chance to choose the days on which the cricket is scheduled and that millions of food options are off the menu because of the over-the-top rules in place, it's bloody rich that an extra 10% is added on.
The picket fence. All the way around. White, clean, traditional and what every Test cricket ground in New Zealand should replicate.
CD's Jamaican-born opening bowler, Evon McInnis. Nothing better than watching a West Indian with a weirdly spelt name tearing in with the wind behind him, bowling bouncers, spraying no balls and wides, then bagging wickets and occasionally getting tonked.
The innings break. On-field mayhem as kids invade for 40 minutes of reckless backyard cricket on the hallowed turf of The Basin. I walked the gauntlet and only had to field 8 tennis balls (long barrier), a Vortex (one-handed) and a frisbee (self-preservation deflection).
The plaques. Set into the path around the perimeter of the ground are engraved acknowledgements to achievements on the ground. Example: The Jones/Crowe partnership and NZ's first Test victory. A nice touch, and good not to be so hammered that I could actually read them.
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love the basin, shame about the cricket tho
See ya on Saturday Paul. I take it larry will be there chiming in for a few? Dan
Dan - I will have a netball skirt ready to go for you mate. Have a look here if that makes no sense: http://www.beigebrigade.co.nz/loop/loop1199415234.html
I couldn't decide whether to be bothered going to the test this weekend or not, but those skirts may well clinch the deal in favour of a trip to the Basin!
Economist - The skirts are not to be missed and if you haven't eaten too many chocolate fish over the Xmas Break then you may well squeeze into one of them yourself. They are pretty special.
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The Basin represents everything right and good about NZ cricket- good article, however the selections made for the 1st test against Bangladesh shows once again the dour 1950 attitude of NZ cricket management and selection policies. In a world regime with openers like Gibbs, Hayden and Jayasyria NZ cricket chooses a team 'able to bat time'. What a load of bollocks- sure they could bat time against the minnow attack of the Bangladeshi but does anyone think that craig cumming batting for 90 minutes for 20 odd runs is going to be good for NZ cricket in the longer term? (by longer term I only mean beyond this series) The short sightedness of the selections of Turner and Bracewell reek of two men who with their experiences and difficulty with the selection mentalities of their eras have gone on to make the same mistakes- manipulating players and trying like spin doctors ramping up to an election (I guess they are lobbying for their reappointment constantly because of their eneptitude) to put a "moving forward" slant on their reasons. Sounds like grumpy old men upset because the players of today are more professional than they are. No wonder guys like H. Marshall, Tuffey, Astle, Harris, Macca, Adams, can't be bothered. Those free birds with too much talent for NZ cricket's institutional blandness are better off elsewhere obviously. Well, what do I care I was one of the 40 thousand who moved to Aus last year, trying to rationalise why I actually care about a team poorly managed, selected, performed and who doesn't give a damn about true follwers (2 tests was it in 2007?- no free to air coverage, no pay t.v coverage beyond overhyped one off 20/20's and pointless repetitive ODI's). I'm over it. Go the Queensland Bulls.