Darwin's Northline Oval dropped

Darwin's Northline Oval has been dropped from the One day Quadrangular Series of matches with its pitch failing to come up to international standard.

The Northern Territory government had invested significant funds in co-hosting the series at the venue, with drop-in pitches recently installed (see pictures above and below).

Northline hosted just the once match – South Africa A's 10-run victory against the National Performance Squad – and had been due to host two more, which will now be moved to Marrara Cricket Ground and The Gardens.

Cricket Australia's senior manager cricket operations Sean Cary said variable bounce meant the pitch was an unacceptable standard for the A Series.

“Unfortunately, the pitch at Northline Oval experienced some issues of variable bounce during Sunday’s match between the National Performance Squad and South Africa A," said Cary.

"Following an assessment of the pitch this morning we have taken the decision to relocate its remaining two matches in the series.

“The curators have done a very good job in the circumstances, but the pitch requires more work over the coming weeks to get to the standard required for international cricket.”

NT Deputy Chief Minister David Tollner told cricket.com.au significant funds had been spent on Northline Oval.

“The last budget we allocated a lot of money for the upgrade of Northline Oval and that was in preparation for these two weeks," said Tollner.

“We’re doing our little bit to try and encourage Cricket Australia up here a bit more and try to get more international cricket to the territory."

Cary said the off-field facilities and outfield at Northline Oval were impressive.

“We see a bright future for cricket at Northline Oval, and are confident that the pitch will play truer and more consistently after more work has gone into it," said Cary.

“The investment by the Northern Territory Government in the facility will reap long-term benefits for cricket and for the Palmerston community, and we congratulate the Northern Territory Government for its support of cricket in the Top End.

“We remain highly committed to playing more high quality cricket at Northline Oval, and I am confident that we will be in a position to do so once further work on the pitch has been conducted."

Thursday's match between Australia A and South Africa A will now be played at Marrara Cricket Ground, which will host its third match in five days.

Next Tuesday’s fixture between India A and the NPS will be shifted to The Gardens, where small boundaries helped India A rattle up 7-326 in 50 overs in a 70-run victory over South Africa A in it's first match on Tuesday.

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