Cricket: New lights a dazzling success for cricket players and fans

By TERRY MADDAFORD

Northern Districts' comprehensive win over Auckland in this week's day-night limited-overs match was much more than just a game of cricket.

As a test for the new floodlights at WestpacTrust Park in Hamilton, the State Shield match was a resounding success.

The lights, reported to have cost about $1.25 million, brought an enthusiastic response from both camps.

The park, already earmarked for the first four-day game under lights, the February 25-28 State Championship clash between Northern and Central Districts, is being seen as a possible venue for the staging of the first-ever test under lights.

"It has been at the back of our minds from the time we first looked at lights at the park," Northern Districts chief executive John Turkington said.

He said the lighting was so good that the four-day game, which would probably start at 2 pm each day, would be played with a red rather than a white ball

The ground, formerly Seddon Park, is undergoing a huge redevelopment that will include the construction of a 2500-seat grandstand.