We all know what a lovely setting the University Oval is, and now the rest of the world does too.
The picturesque ground has been rated as one of the best places to watch test cricket in a survey by an influential cricket publication.
The Cricketer asked a panel of prominent cricket writers, broadcasters and photographers to vote on their favourite venues. The panel considered grounds across five continents, 13 countries and 24 cities. Dunedin's University Oval took 21st place.
South African freelance journalist Telford Vice, nicknamed ‘‘Tough Advice'' by some of his friends in the media, was besotted with the ground's leafy surroundings and described it as ‘‘a ground that has been distilled to the elemental magic of what makes watching cricket good for the soul''.
Wellington's Basin Reserve, the country's most established cricket ground, made it to No 10 on the list. Its pohutukawa trees and grassy embankments make it a pleasant spot to watch the summer game as well, and Hamilton's Seddon Park also featured on the list at No 15.
The No 1 venue was hardly a surprise. Lord's is the spiritual home of cricket and was the unanimous choice.
‘‘Predictable, maybe, but inevitable,'' Wisden Almanack editor Lawrence Booth wrote.
‘‘No other venue cares as profoundly about test cricket.''
With the gongs handed out, the magazine also named the 10 worst venues. The Sydney Cricket Ground had the dubious honour of being the only venue to appear on both lists. It rated as the sixth-best venue and seventh-worst.
The Barmy Army's Paul Burnham was not a fan.
‘‘It is the only ground in the world to refuse pass-outs, forcing you to eat their unhealthy food and line up to buy watered-down beer,'' he complained.
New Zealand Herald sports writer Dylan Clever described Eden Park as ‘‘a soulless concrete bunker'' and it claimed fifth spot.
The worst place was Feroz Shah Kotla in India. Our friend Telford Vice had the following explanation: ‘‘Ugly does not begin to describe this grey, concrete housing estate of a ground. Try monstrous or criminal.''
The Cricketer's best places to view test cricket:
1. Lord's (England)
2. Newlands (South Africa)
3. Adelaide Oval (Australia)
4. Galle International Stadium (Sri Lanka)
5. Trent Bridge (England)
10. Basin Reserve (NZ)
15. Seddon Park (NZ)
21. University Oval Dunedin, NZ)
The worst:
1. Feroz Shah Kotla (India)
2. The Gabba (Australia)
3. Old Trafford (England)
4. Viv Richards Stadium (Antigua)
5. Eden Park (NZ)
