Eden Park. So much to answer for

On a day when most of the frustration was centred on the weather, there was a reminder of just how difficult Eden Park is as a place to pay cricket.

To octocopter / drone, which has been a revelation in television coverage this year was conspicuously absent from our screens today.

You can only assume that this was due to some intransigence from those running the ground.  First they threw out spectators for throwing paper darts, now they are banning a professionally operated filming device.  Taking Hard Work to new levels.

Admittedly, this is not the biggest issue facing the sport, and we did manage to get to the end of 2014 without coverage being enhanced by a drone.  But it is the principle here that matters.  Eden Park, New Zealand’s sporting venue, consistently appear to make things just so hard.  And that is before taking the King Nimby local ratepayers’ association into account.

For years the ground operated effectively enough as a dual sport ground, and the recent highlights of the 1992 Cricket World Cup shows how important it was to the sport in this country.  But with recent developments (most of it centrally funded) the shape of the ground has become even more ludicrous, and the administrators increasingly difficult to deal with.

Roll on Western Springs, Colin Maiden Park, wherever.  This current lot can stick to that one All Black test a year deserving of its size.

Note; it was not the fault of Eden Park, its administrators, or local residents that it rained today.