CRICKET - Cobham pitched as World Cup site

Winning favour with New Zealand Cricket officials has already plonked Cobham Oval on the map as an ideal domestic first-class venue, now Northland Cricket administrators are aiming to turn international hosts for the Cricket World Cup in 2015.
The new pavilion and oval at Cobham Oval in Whangarei has just been confirmed as a venue for 21 days of first-class cricket this summer, including hosting two one-day internationals between the New Zealand White Ferns women's team and Australia.
Northern Districts will play three State Shield four-day matches and another three State Championship one-day fixtures in Whangarei with the Northern Districts women's side, the Spirit, arriving in Whangarei for a twenty/20 match, plus a two-day fixture against the Wellington Blaze.
It is a massive schedule that will test the facilities, but one that Northland Cricket chief executive Gary Bell hopes will plant Cobham Oval in the frame for the 2015 World Cup.
"The next step will be to do well this year, get the chance to host A-side tours then moving forward to the World Cup, getting to host a team in Whangarei and playing a game or two at Cobham Oval," Bell said. "It is a big opportunity for cricket in the north and for Whangarei and Northland as a whole really to show what we are capable of.
"From a commercial outlook what we have this summer already is a bonus for our sponsors. What it means for the future could be even better, and not just from a cricketing perspective."
Getting accredited as a first-class venue has been a big goal for Northland Cricket from the moment plans to develop Cobham Oval were formulated five years ago.
The original move from their established base to make way for the development of car parking and a shopping centre on Port Rd in Whangarei had been a decision fraught with complications. But the payback for ensuring the facility eventually built was international class is now becoming evident.
Getting in the mix for World Cup match allocation in 2015 would be seen as a major coup.
"What we will be looking for is to host a team in Whangarei, maybe get them in a pre-tournament warm-up game, and I guess get the chance to maybe even host a tournament game or maybe even two lower end games," Bell said.
Primary among Bell's concerns will be ensuring the wicket block is maintained to international standards, with NZ Cricket turf expert Jared Carter assisting in the preparation.
It isn't just the game day blocks that need to be nurtured either, grass practice and changing room facilities need to be of the highest quality as well.
To ensure they meet international standards in both the grass turf practice pitch is already the same soil type as the game wicket and plans for a new changing room are already in the pipeline.