U19 Venue Feature: Hagley Park

The ICC Under 19 Cricket World Cup is less than a month away and the 16-team event promises to bring together future stars who will compete across four cities and seven venues in New Zealand.

The 48-match event is the third U19 Cricket World Cup in New Zealand, which previously hosted the 2002 and 2010 editions. Christchurch is the only city that has multiple venues, with matches slotted at the Hagley Oval, Rangiora Oval, Bert Sutcliffe Oval and Lincoln No. 3.

Matches in Queenstown will be played at the John Davies Oval, while the fixtures in Tauranga and Whangarei will be played at the Bay Oval and the Cobham Oval respectively.

Ground name: Hagley Oval
Capacity: 18,000
Location: Christchurch

Located at Hagley Park in the central city of Christchurch, the Hagley Oval is one of the most picturesque and pleasant sporting settings in New Zealand.

In the initial years, the ground hosted several inter-provincial matches. It hosted its first cricket match when Canterbury took on Otago in 1867. As of today, the Hagley Oval hosts all grades of cricket including domestic matches, women’s internationals and junior level cricket.

The ground's international men’s debut came in 2013, when it hosted Scotland and Canada in an ICC World Cup qualifier in 2014.

Christchurch was deprived of hosting an international since the 2011 earthquake in the region. Most parts of the city were severely damaged by the earthquake that struck in February 2011, including Lancaster Park, previously the venue for international cricket in the city. Later in 2013, Canterbury Cricket developed Hagley Oval as an international venue after approval from the Environment Court.

The historic venue hosted its first Test on Boxing Day 2014, where New Zealand took on Sri Lanka. Many local heroes, including Sir Richard Hadlee, Brendon McCullum, Tom Latham and Corey Anderson, have played at Hagley Oval.

It is also the ground that launched the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015, when New Zealand played Sri Lanka in the opening match. The Hagley Oval will also be remembered as the ground where McCullum bowed out of international cricket after slamming the fastest Test hundred.

Of the 11 pitches at the venue, six are made of Waikari clay and five from Kakanui clay. The clay is covered with ryegrass.

The venue has hosted 12 ODIs (including two from the ongoing NZ v WI series, if it is published after December 26) and four Tests so far.

U19 CWC fixtures

January 16: New Zealand v Kenya
January 24: D1 v A2, Super League quarter-final 2
January 25: A1 v D2, Super League quarter-final 3
January 27: Super League playoff semi-final 1
January 29: Super League semi-final 1
January 30: Super League semi-final 1

Click here to view full fixtures.