Traffic flyover threatens Basin Reserve

A proposed traffic flyover could threaten the international future of the Basin Reserve in Wellington, according to former players.

The New Zealand Transport Agency plans to build a two-lane highway flyover 20 metres north of the ground and while a 12-metre high pavilion would also be constructed to block the flyover from view, small glimpses could still be visible to the sides of the pavilion.

Former chief executive of New Zealand Cricket, Martin Snedden, has voiced his concerns that traffic movement outside the 40-degree area from the batsman's view could still be distracting and potentially dangerous, and that it could lead to players and spectators abandoning the venue.

"A fielder at mid-off is not permitted to wave their arms when a bowler is preparing to deliver a ball, despite that fielder being well outside this 40-degree area," Snedden said. "Cricket balls are very hard. Impact on the human body of a fast-moving cricket ball can cause serious injury and even death. Ewen Chatfield, a former New Zealand Test match player, was nearly killed by being struck in the temple by a ball in a Test match in 1974."
Don Neely, the former Wellington captain and cricket historian, said the sight of moving traffic from the playing surface could do irreparable damage to the Basin Reserve's character and could lead to the end of Test cricket at the ground.