Quick facts
| Stadium Name | Mclean Park |
| Place, Country | Napier, New Zealand |
| Established | 1911 |
| Seating Capacity | 20,000 |
McLean Park is one of the main cricket grounds used for international cricket in New Zealand. The Napier stadium is more than 100 years old - it opened back in 1911 - making it a historic location for the sport, while it is notable for being the world's easternmost Test match ground.
This cricket ground was initially named Sir Donald McLean Park, hosts rugby union as well as cricket, with the ground primarily used for One Day Internationals rather than Tests these days.
McLean Park became the sixth venue in New Zealand to host a T20 international when it held a match in the format for the first time in January 2017, when New Zealand took on Bangladesh.
Napier hosts domestic T20 matches in the Super Smash, with the Central Stags its home side. Our OCB guide includes everything you need to know including the McLean Park pitch report, so read on to learn more.
Rugby union's Hawkes Bay Magpies play their home games in the Mitre 10 Cup at the grounds, and it has also been used as the host venue for Rugby World Cup games too.
McLean Park Pitch Report
The Napier ground is regarded as one of the most batting-friendly pitches in world cricket. McLean Park has hosted seven draws in Test cricket, with only three games producing a result.
The stadium reportedly has the highest runs per wicket of any Test match venue, while in ODIs the average runs per wicket is around the 30 mark, again indicating it is a good strip to bat on.
The pitch report shows scoring has been dropping in T20s held in Napier, though. While the average first innings T20 score here was 210 in 2019, scoring has slipped back in recent years and the figure was just 172.5 for games played in McLean Park during 2024.
With 73.3% of teams batting first winning T20s at the stadium, the toss is very important here. Fast bowlers have the highest bowling average but lowest economy rates in T20s at Napier, so while they do not seem to pose a lot of wicket-taking threat, they can help to keep scores down.
FAQs
During 2024, the grounds saw an average score of 172.5 in T20s, which is down a lot from the 2019 season when this figure was 210.
McLean Park is regarded as one of the best pitches to bat on in New Zealand, with high scoring likely. Fast bowlers struggle to provide much of a wicket-taking threat on this ground.
The New Zealand city of Napier has a Mediterranean-style climate, which means that the temperatures here tend to be mild, while there is usually lots of sunshine to enjoy as well.
The McLean Park pitch report strongly favours batting, with the fact the 10 Tests played here have yielded seven draws an indication of this.
