Interest in the New Zealand home international summer of cricket shows no sign of abating, with the “sold out” sign already posted for the first T20 of next month’s five match series against Australia men.

No more tickets are available for the BLACKCAPS series opener under lights at Christchurch’s Hagley Oval on Monday, February 22, and there are very limited tickets available for the second match at Dunedin’s University of Otago Oval, on Thursday, February 25.

NZC chief executive David White said the game continued to ride a wave of popularity this summer, which he put down to a combination of a fresh approach from broadcasters Spark Sport, TVNZ and Mediaworks Radio, and the stellar performance of the BLACKCAPS.

Additionally, he said, the new lights at Hagley Oval gave the Christchurch venue impressive flexibility.

“It’s been great to see the installation of the lights at Hagley Oval and the option to play day-nighters in Christchurch - and I think we’re seeing the immediate benefits of that,” he said.

“We’re delighted with the overall response so far. Australia is certainly a drawcard but I think fans are just as eager to see the BLACKCAPS in action, particularly given the way they’ve played this summer.”

NZC is also noticing strong sales for the final three games of the series – at Sky Stadium, Wellington, on Wednesday, March 3; at Eden Park, Auckland on Friday, March 5, and at Bay Oval, Tauranga on Sunday, March 7.

These three games also act as double-headers with the WHITE FERNS-England T20 fixtures.

Article added: Thursday 21 January 2021