It’s a ground that looks too beautiful and petite for dogged duels in the middle, but there have been many since it was first used for international cricket in 1981 and gained Test status a decade later in 1991.
Stretching languorously over an itsy-bitsy ground with a boutique-like capacity of just 10,000, mostly on grass mounds surrounding the lush green outfield, Seddon Park got its name from Prime Minister Richard Seddon. It lives up to its name, giving you the feel of a walk in the park, especially when the clouds gather up and raindrops keep falling on your head in a gentle glide.
It’s a small ground where slog overs would want to rush in early and the ropes would be touched pretty often, something that the Indian bowlers would have to guard against. But the tree-lined grassy banks which surround the ground give it a quaint village green feel and this home to at least five Black Caps in the present Kiwi team is rated as one of the 20 best Test cricket venues in the world.
The quaint picture of a girlie-looking, long haired Daniel Vettori when he started off here as a 17-year-old adorns one of the walls. Scott Styris gives him company alongside Tim Southee, Corey Anderson and T Boult at this home of cricket and headquarters of the Northern Districts Cricket Association and the Northern Knights.
Talking of Tests, the only two Indian centurions here who figure on the rich teakwood plaque are Sourav Ganguly in 1998-99 and Sachin Tendulkar who made 160 in 2008-9. The bowlers have more impressive Test figures here – Javagal Srinath 5-95, Zaheer Khan 5-29, Harbhajan Singh 6-73 outdo the batsmen on the wood list.
For family outings, Seddon is a special place, being the only ground in New Zealand to reserve one entire stand for non-alcoholic family time. Though Seddon Park was designed for recreation in 1864, it took a modern makeover in 2014 to add on drainage under the field, a new relaid clay pitch, an extended pavilion and better dressing room facilities. And when it is not playing cricket, Seddon Park is all decked up for birthday parties, weddings, cultural events and sometimes even a funeral dinner.