Hamilton's pitch

Apparently there are problems with the wicket at Westpac Trust Park. Again.

We are a month away from test cricket there and it is a worry that they are already talking about problems. The groundsman is optimistic, but even his comments indicate that at best the pitch will be low and slow. I used to think that Hamilton was just unlucky in that it would have had good wickets but for the weather, but the recent history of the ground indicates that it hosts either low-scoring lotteries or slow-scoring borefests.

Auckland no longer deserves test match cricket and Hamilton needs to improve on recent pitches. Perhaps it is time to experiment with new venues, Hagley Oval has the best pitch in the country and McLean Park just hosted a magnificient first-class game in which Northern Districts scored 400/9 in the fourth innings to win. You might argue that those grounds do not have the capacity of Eden Park or Westpac Trust Park, but it is unlikely that a test match would fill them anyway. And 7000 fans packing out McLean Park would create a much better atmosphere than 10,000 in a mostly empty Eden Park.