Black Caps v Australia: Eden Park CEO Nick Sautner claps back to ...

Eden Park chief executive Nick Sautner says his stadium is ideal for cricket, despite receiving backlash for being too small for the sport.

Australian journalist Adam Hawse yesterday said the Australians will have a field day with the Auckland ground’s short boundaries in their second T20 match against New Zealand tonight.

“I’ve played in backyards with bigger boundaries than 55 metres,” Hawse said on 2GB Radio in Sydney.

“This is kiddies’ cricket!

“It’s the home of rugby union, the spiritual home, but it’s not really a cricket oval.

“I’ve done some research, I’ve had a look at the smallest boundaries - two boundaries at Eden Park are in the top five in world cricket.”

The square boundary at Eden Park is 68 metres, and the straight is 55 which is officially the smallest in the world.

In 2015, before the Cricket World Cup final between the Black Caps and Australia, Aussie great Matthew Hayden predicted the Black Caps would struggle with the size of the Melbourne Cricket Ground after playing their pool games and knockout matches at home.

“Let’s be honest, the size of Eden Park is ridiculous. It shouldn’t be a cricket ground. If you can half throw it from the long-off boundary to the opposite end it’s too small,” Hayden said at the time.

Sautner defends the size of the ground, telling the Herald it makes for an entertaining game.

“Eden Park’s intimate setting and fan-friendly boundaries make for one of the world’s best cricket grounds and atmospheres.

“The design guarantees an unmatched live cricket experience for fans at the ground or for those watching at home.”

The last T20 at Eden Park between New Zealand and Pakistan last month featured a combined 22 sixes (11 from each team), while the 2018 encounter between the Black Caps and Australia at the venue saw 32 shots hit into the stands (along with 33 fours) - equalling the then world record.

The national stadium is expected to host more than 30,000 fans tonight, who will experience plenty of the best parts of T20 cricket - boundaries hit. Especially considering the two sides hit 30 sixes between them in Wellington on Wednesday, where the straight boundaries were 80 metres.

“Eden Park’s design guarantees an unmatched live cricket experience for fans at the ground or for those watching at home,” Sautner told the Herald.

“Grounds like the MCG rarely see sixes hit due to the sheer size of the playing field.”

Sautner compares having cricket played at Eden Park to deciding what to have for dinner.

“You might have a favourite restaurant and dish, but most people don’t go every night and have the same dinner. Players enjoy the challenge of adapting to different grounds and their dimensions.”

Hawse said Aussie batter Tim David, who hit 31 off 10 balls on Wednesday, will be pumped for tonight’s match.

“[He] will not be able to sleep, he’ll be so excited thinking about these ridiculous boundaries, he’ll be salivating.

“There’ll be top edges going for sixes, there will be miscued pull shots, disappearing into the crowd, it will suck to be a bowler.

“In the era of huge bats and batsmen, we need bigger minimum boundaries than 55 metres,” said Hawse.

On Wednesday, the Black Caps posted 215-3 in the first T20 against Australia in Wellington, before the tourists completed their third-highest chase to earn a six-wicket win.

For the Black Caps’ must-win match tonight in Tāmaki-Makaurau the weather is set to clear, with a high of 23C before the match gets under way at 7.10pm.

New Zealand: Finn Allen, Devon Conway, Rachin Ravindra, Glenn Phillips, Mark Chapman, Josh Clarkson, Mitchell Santner (c), Ish Sodhi, Lockie Ferguson, Tim Southee, Adam Milne, Ben Sears.

Australia: Mitchell Marsh (c), Pat Cummins, Tim David, Nathan Ellis, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Spencer Johnson, Glenn Maxwell, Matt Short, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Matthew Wade, David Warner, Adam Zampa.

1st T20, today, Sky Stadium, Wellington, 7.10pm

2nd T20, Friday, Eden Park Auckland, 7.10pm

3rd T20, Sunday, Eden Park, Auckland, 1pm

Listen to ball-by-ball commentary of every Black Caps match this summer live and free on iHeart Radio with The Alternative Commentary Collective.

You can also follow the action with the Herald live blog.

All three games will be on TVNZ One and streamed on TVNZ+.