England ODI moved out of McLean Park

The Napier ODI in McLean Park between England and New Zealand has been moved due to a delay in re-turfing the ground. The game, which was scheduled for February 28, has been shifted to Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui.

This is the third straight ODI that has been moved out of McLean Park after a match against Australia in February was abandoned due to poor drainage. A subsequent game against South Africa in March was moved to Hamilton. The completion of the $2 million overhaul of the McLean Park outfield, which began in October, was then delayed, forcing New Zealand Cricket to also move out the January 2018 ODI against Pakistan.

Inclement weather in Auckland, where the new surface is being grown, has postponed the re-turfing process. "We've been advised by our sportsground turf specialist up in Auckland that the volatile weather conditions have obstructed the opportunity to get this specialised grass grown and we haven't been able to access the 7600 tonnes of special grade sand we need to lay the carpet in time," Napier City Council CEO Wayne Jack said.

"Sadly, despite huge effort on all sides, these are factors outside of our control. We're now revising all our time frames."