Eden Park to utilise its portable cricket pitch for upcoming three internationals

Eden Park's portable pitch transporter system was in full swing today, setting out the pitch for the three upcoming T20 internationals.

The 20 ton machine, one of only five in the world, allow Eden Park to be a multi-code stadium, with the ability to host a cricket game one night and Rugby the next.

The transporter allows organisers to completely remove a section of the playing surface and replace it with another.

Blair Christensen, turf manager at Eden Park, said the 30 metre machine takes only around three man hours to complete the process.

The transporter system was described as "huge in the turf world" and features components which come from a military background.

The transporter allows Eden Park to be multi-code and cater for a wide range of sporting events. Photo / Getty

Christensen said the tires, which can each take up to 12 tons of weight, were re-purposed in the mid-90s.

"The US military decided to make an apparatus that could get tanks through the desert. So when that use was finished with, a lot of tires were sitting around and someone had a great idea to build a pitch transporter, and they were fit for purpose," he told the Herald.

Eden Park has five cricket pitch trays able to be used in the summer and one winter sand tray used for rugby, league and football.

Three of the five trays are 15 years old, while two new trays were constructed in 2014 prior to the 2015 Cricket World Cup.