World Cup venues: Bellerive Oval, Westpac Stadium

January 28, 2015 03:51 am | Updated 02:08 pm IST

Bellerive Oval.

Bellerive Oval.

HOBART

Hobart is the capital of Tasmania

Situated on the shores of Derwent River and at the foothills of Mount Wellington, Hobart is a beautiful city in the island of Tasmania. So beautiful, Lonely Planet picked it as one of the world’s top-10 places to visit.

From a colony for convicts, the second-oldest capital city in Australia has come a long way. It has become a tourist hot-spot, with its lovely beaches, heritage buildings, and food and wine.

Cricket is the most popular sport here, but Australian Rules Football, too, is followed passionately, though there is no Tasmanian team in the AFL. Neither are there teams in the football or rugby leagues.

Mona, the largest privately-funded museum in Australia, is the prime attraction in Hobart.

BELLERIVE OVAL

It was called the Bellerive Recreation Ground when it was built in 1914. It was refurbished in 1986, nine years after Tasmania became the last team to get admitted to the Sheffield Shield, regarded as the toughest domestic competition in cricket. It hosted its first international match in 1988, an ODI between Sri Lanka and New Zealand.

The ground was majorly upgraded in 2003, at a cost of $16 million. The renovated venue opened with Australia edging out England by seven runs in the VB Series. The game was watched by a crowd of 16,719 — more than the capacity.

Sachin Tendulkar has scored most ODI runs on this ground, whose two stands were, a few days ago, named after Ricky Ponting and David Boon, Tasmania’s greatest-ever cricketers. The wicket has been kinder to batsmen, forcing Australia leg-spinner Stuart MacGill once to comment that he thought he was “bowling on glass.”

Capacity: 16200

Playing area: 175.0m long, 135.5m wide

Highest total: 344/7 (Aus v Zim, 2004)

Lowest total: 120 (Aus v Pak, 1997)

Highest score: 172 (Adam Gilchrist)

Best bowling: 5/42 (Ottis Gibson)

WELLINGTON

Wellington is the capital of New Zealand

Named after Arthur Wellesley, the Duke of Wellington and the hero of the Battle of Waterloo, it is sandwiched between a blue harbour and green hills. It has been called the world’s ‘coolest little capital’. It is ranked 12th in the world for quality of living.

The second-most populous city of New Zealand has a vibrant cultural tradition; there is a live show or concert almost every night. It is home to the Te Papa museum and Weta Works, a special-effects company involved in the making of films like The Lord of the Rings and Avatar.

Rugby and cricket are among the most popular sports here. It is also the base of Wellington Phoenix FC, the only team from New Zealand playing in the A-League in Australia.

Wellington is said to have more cafes and bars per capita than even New York.

WESTPAC STADIUM

Capacity: 33,500

Playing area: NA

Highest total: 322/5 (Aus v NZ, 2005)

Lowest total: 89 (Eng v NZ, 2002)

Highest score: 156 (Andrew Symonds)

Best bowling: 5/23 (Shane Bond)

Before the Westpac Stadium — also known as the Wellington Regional Stadium — was opened in 2000, international cricket used to be hosted at Basin Reserve, which continues to be a Test venue. It came in as a replacement for Athletic Park, the old rugby stadium.

It is also called The Cake Tin for its shape and silver-coloured walls. As much as 70 per cent of the seats are under cover.

A truly multi-sport stadium, it has hosted international rugby, wrestling, the FIFA under-17 women’s World Cup matches, the 2010 and 2014 football World Cup qualifiers as well as the Australian Football League. It has also witnessed performances by rock bands, The Rolling Stones and The Police.

The ground’s first ODI, played in 2000, took two days to complete due to rain. New Zealand beat the West Indies by eight wickets in that match.

The stadium will host the fourth quarterfinal of the World Cup on March 21.

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