Basin Reserve facts for kids
| The Basin | |||
A view of Basin Reserve in 2008
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| Ground information | |||
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| Location | Mount Cook, Wellington, New Zealand | ||
| Coordinates | 41°18′1″S 174°46′49″E / 41.30028°S 174.78028°E | ||
| Establishment | 1868 | ||
| Capacity | 11,600 | ||
| End names | |||
| Vance Stand End Scoreboard End |
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| International information | |||
| First Test | 24–27 January 1930: New Zealand v  England |
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| Last Test | 11–14 December 2020: New Zealand v  West Indies |
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| First ODI | 9 March 1975: New Zealand v England |
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| Last ODI | 26 March 2021: New Zealand v  Bangladesh |
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| First women's Test | 20–23 March 1948: New Zealand v  Australia |
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| Last women's Test | 26–29 January 1990: New Zealand v Australia |
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| First WODI | 23 January 1982: Australia v England |
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| Last WODI | 12 February 2009: New Zealand v Australia |
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| First WT20I | 28 February 2016: New Zealand v Australia |
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| Last WT20I | 1 March 2016: New Zealand v Australia |
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| Team information | |||
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| As of 26 March 2021 Source: CricketArchive |
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The Basin Reserve, often called "The Basin", is a famous cricket ground in Wellington, New Zealand. It's a key place for Test cricket matches. It is also the main home ground for the Wellington Firebirds, a top-level cricket team. The Basin Reserve is special because it's the only cricket ground in New Zealand with a special historic status. It is the oldest Test cricket ground in the whole country! While it has hosted other events like concerts, it's mostly used for cricket games today.
Contents
Where is the Basin Reserve?
The Basin Reserve is about two kilometers south of central Wellington. It sits at the bottom of Mount Victoria. Nearby, you'll find Government House, St Marks Church School, and Wellington College. The Mount Victoria Tunnel, built in 1931, is at the eastern end of the Basin. It helps traffic move around the area.
Inside the Old Grandstand, you can visit the New Zealand Cricket Museum. It has lots of cool cricket items and a library about the sport.
Many other important places are around the Basin Reserve. These include Mount Cook Barracks and the National War Memorial. There's also a fire station across the street. Firefighters there used to watch games and sound their siren when New Zealand took a wicket or a player scored a big milestone like 50 or 100 runs! The Basin Reserve is where the Wellington areas of Mount Cook, Newtown, and Mount Victoria meet.
How the Basin Reserve Was Built
The area where the Basin Reserve now stands was once a lake. People even planned to connect it to the sea with a canal. They wanted to make it a busy inner-city harbor with factories. But then, a huge earthquake hit in 1855. It lifted the land by almost 1.8 m (5.9 ft). This turned the lake into a swamp.
The early settlers loved sports, especially cricket. But the city planners hadn't set aside land for sports fields. Flat land was hard to find in hilly Wellington. After the 1855 earthquake, which was very strong, some important citizens had an idea. In 1857, they suggested draining the new swampy land. They wanted to turn it into a sports area.
The Wellington council agreed. On February 3, 1863, prisoners from Mount Cook Gaol started to level and drain the land. By September, the swamp was dry. A fence and hedges were put around the area. However, many people moved to Wellington between 1863 and 1866. This slowed down the work on the Basin Reserve.
On December 11, 1866, the Basin Reserve officially became Wellington's cricket ground. No animals were allowed, and only small plants could be grown. The very first cricket game was played on January 11, 1868. The ground was still quite rough, with stones and thistles. The umpire even apologized for the poor conditions! There was no big ceremony for the opening day.
Soon after, the Highland Games started at the Basin Reserve. These games were organized by the Wellingtonian Caledonian Society. Their building, The Caledonian Hotel, is still near the Basin Reserve today. The society offered prize money, which brought many people to compete. Because the games were so popular, the society asked for new grandstands. These stands would be about 44 by 20 ft (13.4 by 6.1 m) and cost around £250–£300. They would also have food stalls.
Even until 1872, the Basin Reserve was still quite swampy. There were small pools of water and lots of weeds. In late 1872, horses were used to level the playing field. This made the conditions much better.
In 1882, the William Wakefield Memorial was put up at the Basin Reserve. This monument had been stored for many years. It was finally placed there to honor William Wakefield, one of Wellington's founders.
The pavilion building at the Basin has been a registered Historic Place since 1982. The entire Basin Reserve became a registered Historic Area in 1998. The William Wakefield Memorial has a Category I registration, meaning it's very important.
In 2012, the Museum Stand was closed because of earthquake risks. A new players' pavilion opened in December 2018. In 2020, it was named after the famous cricketer Ewen Chatfield.
Exciting Events at the Basin Reserve
The very first event at the Basin Reserve was a cricket match on January 11, 1868. It was between the Wellington Volunteers and the crew of a ship called HMS Falcon. The game was tough because of all the stones and thistles on the field. Some players even got hurt!
After that, local groups started holding sports events there. These became known as the Highland Games. Their success led to the building of the first grandstand. The games included running, dancing, wood-chopping, and cycling. Even though the ground was still a bit swampy, it got better in late 1872. This allowed the first "first-class" cricket game to be played there. Wellington played against Auckland on November 30, 1873, and Wellington won easily.
The Basin Reserve also hosted what is believed to be the first rugby game in New Zealand's North Island. The Wellington football team played against the crew of HMS Rosario. The sailors won that game.
In 1911, the Australasian athletic championships were held at the Basin Reserve. New Zealanders won all the running events, and Australians won all the field events. Before going on a big tour in 1921, the Australian rugby league team played an exhibition match here.
The first ever Test cricket match at the ground was between New Zealand and England. It started on January 24, 1930. One-day international cricket was played at the Basin Reserve until 1999. After that, these games moved to the bigger Westpac Stadium in Wellington. However, the Basin Reserve has hosted a few more One-day international games since then.
On March 13, 2011, the Basin Reserve held a special cricket event called "Fill the Basin." It was to raise money for the people affected by the 2011 Christchurch earthquake. More than 10,000 people came, making it the biggest crowd at the Basin Reserve in modern times. Famous cricketers like Shane Warne and Stephen Fleming played. Even actors Russell Crowe and Ian McKellen joined in! More than $500,000 was raised for earthquake relief.
Besides cricket, other sports have used the Basin Reserve. These include rugby union, rugby league, and football (soccer) matches. In the 1950s and 1960s, it was Wellington's main football ground. It hosted international games and Chatham Cup finals.
Cool Cricket Records at the Basin Reserve
The Basin Reserve has seen many exciting moments in cricket.
Test Match Highlights
As of September 2020, 64 Test matches have been played here. The ground is known for being good for fast bowlers. Nine of the top ten players who have taken the most wickets here are fast bowlers. Chris Martin has taken the most wickets with 58.
Brendon McCullum holds the record for the highest score in one innings at the Basin Reserve. He scored an amazing 302 runs! He was the first New Zealand player to score over 300 runs in a Test match. Before him, Martin Crowe held the record with 299 runs in 1991.
In 2015, Kumar Sangakkara scored his 12,000th Test run here. He also hit his 11th double century. Trent Boult has made some incredible one-handed catches here, including one that got Sangakkara out in 2015. In the same match, Kane Williamson scored his first Test double century. His teammate BJ Watling also scored a century. Williamson's catch in that game was even shown on Sports Center in America!
In 2017, Henry Nicholls scored his first Test century here. Later that year, Tom Blundell scored his first Test century in his very first Test match! He even walked home in his uniform because he lives so close to the ground.
The highest score by a team in a Test match here was by the New Zealand national cricket team. They scored 680 runs for 8 wickets against India in 2014. The players who have scored the most runs at this ground are Ross Taylor (1270 runs), Kane Williamson (1137 runs), and Martin Crowe (1123 runs). The most wickets have been taken by Chris Martin (60 wickets), Daniel Vettori (57 wickets), and Richard Hadlee (53 wickets).
One Day International (ODI) Highlights
In ODI cricket, the highest score by a team was by New Zealand. They scored 315 runs for 7 wickets against Pakistan in 2018. The players with the most runs in ODIs here are Martin Crowe (345 runs), Andrew Jones (311 runs), and Nathan Astle (285 runs). The most wickets have been taken by Danny Morrison (16 wickets), Chris Harris (13 wickets), and Gavin Larsen (12 wickets).
It's quite rare to score a century in an ODI at the Basin Reserve. Only four have ever been scored! The most recent was by Martin Guptill in 2018. The only visiting player to score an ODI century here was Shoaib Mohammad from Pakistan in 1989.
Images for kids
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A view of Basin Reserve in 2008
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Spectators and the William Wakefield Memorial
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Crowd watching a Test match Between England and New Zealand in 2008
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The main scoreboard named after cricket historian Don Neely
