ND to become stay-at-homes in Hamilton

Northern Districts will base more of their matches at Hamilton's Westpac Park in future. The move is an effort, in part, to give the ND side more of a home town advantage that other associations like Wellington and Auckland enjoy, but it also recognises the need for having quality grounds to allow players to perform at their optimum.

John Turkington, the chief executive of Northern Districts, said: "The allocating of venues has always been a difficult task as Northern Districts has sought to achieve the balance in pomoring cricket throughout its region and ensure that cricket is played in the best possible conditions to comply with the wishes of New Zealand Cricket, the Northern Districts coaching staff and the New Zealand Cricket Players' Association (NZCPA). The primary requirements affecting venue selection remains a good pitch with appropriate outfield and practice facilities.

"Home venue advantage enjoyed in metropolitan areas such as Wellington is not always available to the State Northern Knights. Playing more matches at Westpac Park will maximize that. On a recent poll of all NZPCPA members Westpac Park was voted as the most popular players' venue. Pitch reports from the previous season are also considered in this process.

"The compressed nature of the State Shield programme means that the rigorous play - travel - play schedule sometimes only allows a day between matches. In turn this can have a less than desirable effect on the players' welfare and ultimately performance. Thus, travel becomes another important consideration," he said.