World cup cricket comes to Hamilton

Hamilton's Seddon Park will host three matches in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015.

Tournament organisers revealed the city's picturesque ground will be the venue for matches between South Africa and Zimbabwe (February 15) India and Ireland (March 10), and Bangladesh and New Zealand (March 13). All three games will be day-night matches.

Mayor Julie Hardaker welcomed the announcement as a testament to the calibre of the ground and a reflection of the city's ability to host large sporting events.

"We are very proud of Seddon Park: it's one of our city's best assets, and when it's full for big matches, the atmosphere is fantastic," Mayor Hardaker said.

"Hamilton really gets in behind big sporting events and I am very confident cricket supporters from around the region will fill Seddon Park for these ICC Cricket World Cup fixtures. The countdown begins now."

Christchurch is scheduled to host the opening match of the tournament featuring New Zealand against Sri Lanka, while there will be a quarter-final at Wellington Regional Stadium and a semi-final at Auckland's Eden Park. The final is at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, as it was when the two countries last co-hosted the tournament in 1992.

Northern Districts Cricket Association chief executive Peter Roach echoed the Mayor's sentiments. "The allocation of these tournament matches is terrific news for local cricket fans. For many, being at an ICC Cricket World Cup match will be a once-in-a-lifetime experience," says said.

Seddon Park is highly-rated as an international cricket venue, regularly hosting tests, one day internationals and T20 fixtures involving the Black Caps and visiting teams. In May 2012, influential magazine The Cricketer ranked Seddon Park as the world's 15th-best test match venue.

The magazine described Seddon Park as "a perfect circular venue with grassy banks running around from a classy pavilion", and quoted South African writer Neil Manthorp's comments the park had "fabulous grass banks, white picket fences, and just five minutes from the centre of town".

Seddon Park hosted two matches as part of the 1992 Cricket World Cup, the only previous time New Zealand has been involved in hosting the tournament.