Bay Oval's status as one of New Zealand Cricket's international venues of choice has been reinforced with the allocation of five major matches in the coming season.
The ground will host Kane Williamson and his Black Caps for four one day internationals, two each against Sri Lanka and India, and Suzie Bates' White Ferns will also be in town to take on the Indian Women's team.
Sri Lanka will play the first two of their three match ODI series against the Black Caps at Bay Oval in the peak New Year holiday period on January 3 and 5.
India will then bring its array of global stars, likely to include Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan, to Tauranga for one-dayers on January 26 and 28.
The White Ferns encounter with the Indian women will follow on January 29, making a highly enticing double-header for Indian and Kiwi fans.
In addition to the full international matches India A will be in town for an extended period early in the summer. They will playing one four-dayer and all three of their tour's 50-over matches at the oval.
Bay Oval Trust General Manager Kelvin Jones is excited about the summer ahead.
'We're delighted about the quantity of cricket and the quality,” he says. 'Probably the double-header versus India was the most pleasing thing for us.
'It will be the biggest audience the Bay Oval's ever had for those two matches. It will huge exposure for us and the region.
'The India A games also show the value and the quality of the ground. We understand Rahul Dravid after the Under 19 World Cup matches was very keen to come back to the Bay Oval and bring an Indian A team.
'From what we hear that will very likely feature a lot of the top Indian stars because they're using it as preparation for their tour of Australia.”
A slight jarring note for Kelvin was their failure to secure a test match in the summer's programme.
'We were hoping, and we are disappointed to not get our first test match. It's something we always strive for, to develop the ground with test cricket in the back of our minds.
'It's the pinnacle of the game and we would dearly like our first test, but it's not to be this summer.”
Bay Oval's 2019 international summer programme:
Thursday 3 January, Blackcaps v Sri Lanka, 1st ODI, 2pm
Saturday 5 January, Blackcaps v Bay Oval, 2nd ODI, 2pm
Saturday 26 January, Blackcaps v India, 2nd ODI, 3pm
Monday 28 January, Blackcaps v India, 3rd ODI, 3pm
Tuesday 29 January, White Ferns v India, 2nd ODI, 2pm
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