Eden Park will host Super Bash cricket over Auckland Anniversary weekend

Originally Published by  NZHerald

There might be a distinct lack of international cricket at New Zealand’s national stadium this summer but that hasn’t stopped The Alternative Commentary Collective (ACC) team and Eden Park from devising a world first that will see hundreds (and potentially thousands) of balls disappear into the stands, but not at the hands of heroes such as the Dead Shark Eyes of Martin Guptill and The Little Lamb Jimmy Neesham but from everyday cricket sloggers.

Eden Park is gearing up for the first ever “Super Bash” event held over Auckland Anniversary weekend in which it will drop the redundant (for this season anyway) international T20 pitch into place and allow members of the public to come and face 6 deliveries on the hallowed turf usually reserved for international fixtures only.

“All too often, we hear a budding Blackcap brag that they could easily hit a six at Eden Park. Even Sports Minister, Hon Grant Robertson, has been quoted saying that anyone could hit a six”, says Eden Park CEO Nick Sautner.

“This was our motivation for laying down the challenge of the Dulux Super Bash: to provide an opportunity for everyday cricketers to clear the rope on one of the world’s most iconic cricket grounds.”

The Super Bash experience will see members of the public welcomed on to the pitch on the jumbo 40 metre long screen and then face 6 deliveries from a pre-set bowling machine firing balls down at around 90km/h, enough speed to allow the everyday batsmen to get enough of a connection to clear the ropes. In addition, each over will be commentated on live by a team from The Alternative Commentary Collective and streamed around the world via YouTube.

“This is pretty much the one thing I dreamt of as a child that was worth keeping in my memory bank to be honest” says the ACC’s Jeremy Wells.

The Super Bash concept follows hotly on the heels of another successful Eden Park experience ‘The G9’ which sees the public take on a unique 9 hole golf course throughout the stadium, a concept that has been licensed around the world.