The South Island will get to taste HRV Twenty20 night matches for the first time when Christchurch’s Hagley Oval hosts back-to-back matches under temporary lights to open the 2013-14 competition this weekend.
The Canterbury Wizards begin their double-header against the Devon Hotel Central Stags tomorrow night, before taking on defending champions the Otago Volts on Saturday evening.
It kicks off what will be an initial four week tour around the country, with televised matches every Friday and Saturday night. Week two sees the Volts in action at Dunedin’s University Oval, which will be the other venue to utilise temporary lights. Excessive wind may affect the use of the temporary lights, though it is unlikely to have a major impact.
A total of 11 venues from Alexandra to Auckland will be used during round-robin action, which features 30 games overall.
The bulk of the competition will be played over the traditional Christmas and New Year holiday period, culminating in a finals weekend in Hamilton on 17 and 18 January. Seddon Park will host the preliminary final on the Friday night and the final on the Saturday night, with both games to be televised.
As in previous years, the winner of the competition will represent New Zealand at the Twenty20 Champions League.
Tomorrow’s match begins at 7.15pm and will screen live on SKY Sport. Every match will be livescored on www.blackcaps.co.nz and the Major Association websites.
