Wellington's Basin Reserve to host ODI after almost 11 years

One- Day International (ODI) is set to return to Wellington’s Basin Reserve after almost 11 years when New Zealand take on Pakistan in January 2016. The ground that is famously called the island of cricket situated in the inner city of Wellington holds a very significant memory in Black Caps history: Sir Richard Hadlee had taken his 300th Test wicket there, when he had removed the Australian captain Allan Border. That was one of 53 wickets Hadlee picked up at the Basin Reserve, at an average of 20.3. The last ODI that was hosted by the ground was the fourth game of 2005 Australia’s tour of New Zealand, which was won by the visitors comfortably by seven wickets. READ: New Zealand 2015-16 home schedule out: will hosts Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Australia According to a report from Cricinfo, New Zealand Cricket Chief Executive David White suggested that the matches have been deliberately spread out across the country to allow home fans to watch their team live which will in turn help them to follow up on the World Cup highs. "I'd like to congratulate Wellington authorities for taking a regional approach to this process and, specifically, [Wellington's other international venue] Westpac Stadium for supporting the return of ODI cricket to the Basin Reserve," White added. The same venue will host Brendon McCullum's 100th Test match later in the year when Australia visit for a tour that includes the first properly contested Chappell-Hadlee one-day cup since 2010. New Zealand will also host Sri Lanka in the 2015-16 season. Meanwhile, Kiwi skipper Brendon McCullum is looking forward to the upcoming matches as he said: “Looking at this schedule, there’s some really exciting opposition in front of us. So hopefully we can build on what we did last year and also at the World Cup, drive this team forward and keep improving our performances.” (Sakshi Gupta, a reporter with CricketCountry, is a sports fanatic whose mantra in life is “do only what you enjoy.” Her Twitter handle is @sakshi2929)