Molyneux Park is a

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by st ...

ground and sports complex in

Alexandra Alexandra () is the feminine form of the given name Alexander (, ). Etymologically, the name is a compound of the Greek verb (; meaning 'to defend') and (; GEN , ; meaning 'man'). Thus it may be roughly translated as "defender of man" or "p ...

Otago Otago (, ; mi, Ōtākou ) is a region of New Zealand located in the southern half of the South Island administered by the Otago Regional Council. It has an area of approximately , making it the country's second largest local government reg ...

, New Zealand. It is the main sports venue for the Alexandra area. Molyneux Park was developed in the 1960s and 1970s. As well as cricket, rugby, softball, netball and bowls facilities it has a seasonal outdoor ice skating rink, squash courts and the Alexandra bike park. The first recorded cricket match on the ground came in January 1961 when

Central Otago Central Otago is located in the inland part of the Otago region in the South Island of New Zealand. The motto for the area is "A World of Difference". The area is dominated by mountain ranges and the upper reaches of the Clutha River and tribu ...

played the touring

Marylebone Cricket Club Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) is a cricket club founded in 1787 and based since 1814 at Lord's Cricket Ground, which it owns, in St John's Wood, London. The club was formerly the governing body of cricket retaining considerable global influe ...

. The ground held its first first-class match during the 1978/79 Shell Cup when

played

Central Districts The Central Stags, formerly known as Central Districts, are a first-class cricket team based in central New Zealand. They are the men's representative side of the Central Districts Cricket Association. They compete in the Plunket Shield firs ...

. The following season the first

List A List A cricket is a classification of the limited-overs (one-day) form of the sport of cricket, with games lasting up to eight hours. List A cricket includes One Day International (ODI) matches and various domestic competitions in which the numbe ...

match was held there when Otago played

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by ...

in the 1980/81

Shell Trophy New Zealand has had a domestic first-class cricket championship since the 1906–07 season. Since the 2009–10 season it has been known by its original name of the Plunket Shield. History The Plunket Shield competition was instigated in Octob ...

. Molyneux Park has been used as a home venue for Otago since then. As of early 2021 it had hosted 31 first-class matches, 66 List A matches, as well as 10

Twenty20 Twenty20 (T20) is a shortened game format of cricket. At the professional level, it was introduced by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) in 2003 for the inter-county competition. In a Twenty20 game, the two teams have a single inn ...

matches. Between 2006 and 2009, Otago Women used the ground for home matches in the

State League The Hallyburton Johnstone Shield is the premier domestic women's one-day cricket competition in New Zealand. The tournament began in 1935–36, as a first-class competition, but is now played as a 50-over competition, with six provincial teams ...

. Two Youth Test matches have been played there. The first came in 1999 when New Zealand Under-19s played England Under-19s, while the second saw New Zealand Under-19s play South Africa Under-19s. Three Youth

One Day International A One Day International (ODI) is a form of limited overs cricket, played between two teams with international status, in which each team faces a fixed number of overs, currently 50, with the game lasting up to 9 hours. The Cricket World C ...

s were also played there between 1993 and 1995. Molyneux Park is also the home ground for the

Otago Country cricket team The Otago Country cricket team represents the Central Otago and South Otago regions of New Zealand. It competes in the Hawke Cup. Its parent organisation is the Otago Country Cricket Association, which is based in Alexandra. Central Otago The ...

, which competes in the

Hawke Cup The Hawke Cup is a non-first-class cricket competition for New Zealand's district associations. Apart from 1910–11, 1912–13 and 2000–01 the competition has always been on a challenge basis. To win the Hawke Cup, the challengers must beat t ...

References

External links

Molyneux Park
at

ESPNcricinfo ESPN cricinfo (formerly known as Cricinfo or CricInfo) is a sports news website exclusively for the game of cricket. The site features news, articles, live coverage of cricket matches (including liveblogs and scorecards), and ''StatsGuru'', a d ...

Molyneux Park
at CricketArchive {{coord, 45, 14, 35.75, S, 169, 23, 00.92, E, type:landmark_scale:2000_region:NL, display=title 1960s establishments in New Zealand Cricket grounds in New Zealand Sports venues in Otago Alexandra, New Zealand