CRICKET - Cobham Oval keen to be an ICC venue

The new Cobham Oval, completed in 2005, hosted its first international match this year with the White Ferns hosting Australia for the Rosebowl series.
But more needs to be done at the ground before it gains official status from the International Cricket Council (ICC).
"We think we can achieve it and we're focused on achieving our goal of reaching international status ... because we want to position ourselves for the 2015 World Cup," Northland Cricket chief executive Gary Bell said.
Bell said venues would be needed for international teams to base themselves for practice and play warm-up games before the 2015 event started but Whangarei would also be vying to be a venue for pool matches.
"Ultimately, like Northland Rugby is hosting Tonga in their World Cup, we'd like to host one of the international teams here," he said.
Representatives from New Zealand Cricket (NZC) and Sky Television were in Whangarei last week to check on progress at the venue and to give feedback towards becoming an international venue.
Decisions on venues are still a long way off but Bell said the fact that New Zealand Cricket had been interested in carrying out a full reconnaissance of the ground was "encouraging".
NZC operations manager Tim Murdoch, one of the visitors to Whangarei, said the group were impressed with Cobham Oval and had not encountered any problems that were "hugely insurmountable. There's a process we're trying to go through, we have to establish what facilities we'll be able to use here for an international match and what facilities we'll have to bring in."
Murdoch said the process had received great support from Northland Cricket and the Whangarei District Council.
"The next step is for Gary [Bell] to produce answers to the questions that we've posed and, after that, we get an ICC representative here to get the final approval to play international cricket here," he said.
There will be some work involved upgrading the status of the ground - including building a new changing room block, with extra broadcast facilities likely to be included for television commentary teams.
"Short term, the one thing we do need to address is the current size of the changing rooms," Bell said.
"They are too small for an international venue, so we are going to build a new changing facility on the ground to accommodate not only international teams but also first-class teams, because their requirements have also been extended."
Constructing a new embankment along the northeastern [harbour] side of the ground is already under way.
"There are a lot of earthworks planned, we're reshaping and increasing the capacity of our embankments so we can take 5500 people in the ground," Bell said.
There are also plans to extend the practice nets from the current number of four to 11 and to terrace all the embankments.
The Mark Cromie Indoor Centre is another positive for the ground's future international status, as is the quick-draining sand-based surface, a big wicket block and the full-size outfield.
Cobham Oval now rivals other cricket-only designed grounds such as Wellington's Basin Reserve and Hamilton's Seddon Park as the best cricketing venues in the country.
* Turf expert pitches in
When it comes to poking holes in the ground, New Zealand Cricket's Jared Carter is on home turf.
Carter is New Zealand Cricket's turf manager and was in Whangarei last Thursday to inspect the wicket block at Cobham Oval and also took the chance to run a field day for Northland's part-time wicket curators.
There are three club wickets prepared voluntarily by club members - Mangakaramea, Kaipara Flats and Whangarei Boys' High School - and the field day was to give them and other interested parties an insight into how "to make their lives a little easier at low-budget venues".
Carter said the Northland area seemed well catered for and the pitches played "generally" pretty well considering the difficult climate.
Sixteen people attended the technical day, including staff from Recreational Services and Whangarei District Council staff who prepare wickets on council-administered grounds - including Cobham Oval.
Carter was thrilled with the way the wicket at Cobham played this season.
"New Zealand Cricket thinks of Cobham as a key venue in the long term ... and we were absolutely rapt with how it came through this year, from being a venue that's had one-off games to having a huge amount of games thrown at it this year.
"They've done a fantastic job," he said.