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Southland cricket groundsman Blake Tempero inspects the outer part of the wicket block ahead of Saturday’s Ford Trophy clash between the Otago Volts and Auckland Aces at Queens Park, Invercargill.
Top-level cricket is making a return to Invercargill this Saturday.
The Otago Volts will be at Queens Park to face the Auckland Aces in the first round of the Ford Trophy competition, with play set to begin at 10.30am.
It has been five years since a white ball game was last played at Queens Park.
In March 2021, a four-day match between the Otago Volts and Auckland Aces was scheduled but heavy rain in the lead-up left the ground unsafe at the duck pond end. Despite sunshine for the clash and the boundary being brought in, the match was abandoned.
Later that year, Queens Park was stripped of its first-class warrant of fitness for the 2021-22 season because of persistent drainage issues at the duck pond end of the ground.
Those issues have now been sorted along with a functioning scoreboard, and domestic cricket is making a welcome return.
With four years of experience, including a couple at the Basin Reserve in Wellington, Southland Cricket Association groundsman Blake Tempero knows a thing or two about preparing a wicket.
Having been in the role down south for a little while now, Tempero said he was excited to see how the wicket plays on Saturday.
“Absolutely. It’s been a little while since we’ve had first-class cricket back in Invercargill. I am excited for not just myself but the whole community.”
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Otago Volts seamer Jacob Duffy is excited to return to Queens Park in Invercargill.
Tempero said he loved the challenge of his new role.
“I have jumped straight into the role and done a lot of learning along the way, which is good. I have had a couple of great mentors like Jason Osborne and Pete Domigan to help me along with preparing wickets.”
He was hoping to have a pitch that suited batting and bowling. “We want to see plenty of runs out there.”
Like all groundsman roles, there are challenges with weather, but Tempero said Invercargill had been reasonably lucky to date.
“We have had some good weather leading up. We are prepped and ready to go; everything is in place.”
Southlander Jacob Duffy, who is the pace bowling spearhead in the Volts, said he was excited to head back home.
“I normally circle the date on the calendar as it’s always something to look forward to, but I haven’t had that the last few years, so I am bloody excited.
“All the guys love coming down there. I am very excited to catch up with friends, family and grandparents.”
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Blake Tempero inspects the outfield at Queens Park ahead of Saturday’s clash.
Although the Volts have struggled in the longer format, white ball cricket has come more naturally to the side in recent times.
“When you have a young group of batters, they generally favour the white ball,” Duffy said.
“The group is confident. So hopefully we can go out there and smash Auckland on Saturday.”
Southland Cricket Association general manager Lauren Roney said the association was pleased to have high-quality cricket back in Invercargill.
“A lot of time and investment has gone in to secure these games, and we are very grateful for the fantastic community support we have received,” she said.
“The weather forecast looks great for Saturday, so hopefully we will get a good crowd along to watch some top cricket.”
It will be be a busy couple of weeks for the Southland cricket crew. There is a Hawke Cup clash next weekend followed by two Otago Sparks games on December 9-10, and then the Volts return to face Canterbury on December 12.
