Hagley Oval heroes honoured

Martin Guptill in action during the first Pool A match between New Zealand and Sri Lanka, at the ICC Cricket World Cup, held at Hagley Oval, Christchurch. Photo / Brett Phibbs

The workers who prepared Christchurch's Hagley Oval for this year's Cricket World Cup have been recognised for their outstanding work.

The team, led by head groundsman Rupert Bool, was presented with the highly-esteemed award "International Pitch of the Year" at the New Zealand Cricket awards dinner in Auckland yesterday.

Recreation and Sports unit manager John Filsell said it was the first time the accolade had been awarded to a brand new ground and highlighted what an achievement it was for the team.

"The commitment and dedication of Rupert and the Hagley Oval turf management team over the past three years have been truly inspiring. The improvements to Hagley Oval make it unrecognisable today compared to three years ago and this is down to the countless hours of hard graft put in by Rupert and the team."

Parks unit manager Andrew Rutledge said Hagley Oval was a great legacy for the people of Christchurch.

"The team has done Christchurch proud delivering a first-class international standard cricket pitch for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015, but just as important, this pitch is here to be enjoyed by all Hagley Park visitors and cricketers of all grades and ages for years to come."

Hagley Oval staged the prestigious opening game of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 between New Zealand and Sri Lanka, which was broadcast live to a global audience of over 1.2 billion. It also hosted two other pool matches featuring Pakistan, West Indies, England and Scotland.