World Cup games for Hagley Oval

According to New Zealand Cricket's head of cricket, Lindsay Crocker, the Boxing Day clash is the first of many games to be held there.

'We've been through several of these recently at Nelson, Whangarei and Mt Maunganui, so we know what to expect and what they expect and we're pretty sure we, well, Canterbury Cricket, have got our bases covered,'' Crocker was quoted saying by a New Zealand website. ''This is a great setting and this is a serious Test match ground.''

Dunedin's University Oval picked up the Test match slack due to the absence of a ground in Christchurch, which last hosted a Test in December 2006.

However, the official International Cricket Council approval for the ground will be received next month when Roshan Mahanama, the ICC match referee, will be in New Zealand for the One-Day International series between New Zealand and South Africa. He is scheduled to visit Christchurch on October 19 to give it the ICC sign-off.

If the ICC approves of the ground and the available facilities, as anticipated, Hagley Oval will be considered as one of New Zealand's leading Test venues along with Hamilton's Seddon Park and Wellington's Basin Reserve.

''I think it's highly unlikely we'll run Boxing Day Tests [regularly], this was just the way it panned out with the Cricket World Cup this summer, but this is certainly in contention for future Tests,'' Crocker said. ''There will be plenty of contests here and it's a bit of a dual-purpose ground."

In what is expected to be a busy summer, Canterbury is set to play domestic matches at the ground. The first match will be played between Scotland and Canterbury on October 17.