David Leggat: Basin's strong claim to be finest ground

AMI stadium, formerly Lancaster Park, was the venue for NZ's first cricket test. Photo / Simon Baker

New Zealand's best cricket ground?

It's one of those questions where it's all down to personal choice.

If you're a Wellingtonian, there's a simple answer.

The Basin Reserve is not New Zealand's oldest test venue.

The first test was played at Christchurch's Lancaster Park in January 1930, a loss to England.

The Basin hosted the second international a week later and produced the first test draw, also against the Mother Country, a match notable for a 276-run first-wicket stand, and centuries each, for Stewie Dempster and Jack Mills.

What New Zealand wouldn't give for even half that at the top of their order right now.

But that's digressing.

The Basin was a picture yesterday - a pristine outfield and a cloudless sky, on one of those days where it's easy to agree with the local view that the capital is indeed a slice of heaven.

But is the ground New Zealand's most successful in winning test terms?

New Zealand have won 43 tests out of 178 played on home turf.

At the Basin the test record is 14 wins out of 51 tests, or 27.45 per cent. That makes it the top place purely in terms of the number of victories.

How do those numbers compare with the other five cities to have hosted tests?

There have been nine wins from 47 tests at Eden Park, which hasn't hosted a test since March 2006. That gives it a 19.15 per cent record.

Christchurch sits at 20 per cent, with eight wins out of 40; Carisbrook and University Oval combined have shared five wins from 13 tests in Dunedin, or 38.46 per cent; while McLean Park in Napier has yet to break its duck from nine tests, two of which have been lost.

Which leaves Hamilton's Seddon Park top of the pile with seven wins from 18 tests, or 38.89 per cent.

But a comment from New Zealand captain Dan Vettori yesterday prompted the thought: which ground should be regarded as the home of cricket.

Vettori was in no doubt, while admitting that when one of the capital's dreaded gales arrives - and there's usually at least one day out of five that happens - it's no fun.

"It's one of those grounds where on a day like this you love being here, and I know there's one day during the test when we'll hate being here," he quipped. "I know the guys look at this as the home of cricket within New Zealand and really love coming here. It's a pure cricket ground."

And there's the point of this.

Of the main grounds in New Zealand, only the Basin Reserve, Dunedin's University Oval and Seddon Park in Hamilton fit that bill, as cricket-specific venues.

Eden Park is a rugby-cricket double act, and in any case there won't be any cricket there until at least the 2012-13 season courtesy of this year's World Cup, followed by the redevelopment of the outer oval.

AMI Stadium - Lancaster Park to anyone with a traditional bone in their body - is another two-for-one, and, like Eden Park's main oval, unwanted for test cricket these days.

Likewise McLean Park, although that has been in favour as a test venue at least partly because it produces a belting pitch, if rather loaded in the batsmen's favour.

Of the solely cricket locations, University Oval is the Johnny-come-lately of the trio; and Seddon Park a relative teenager compared with Wellington's grand dame, 81 years old and going strong.