New ZealandTest and ODI ground1930 to 2025
Basin Reserve
Wellington, New Zealand
Basin Reserve records at a glance
At Basin Reserve, the highest Test team total is 680/8 by New Zealand in 2014; the highest individual score is 302 by Brendon McCullum in 2014; the highest successful chase is 277/3 by Pakistan in 2003.
At Basin Reserve, the highest ODI team total is 318/6 by New Zealand in 2021; the highest individual score is 126* by Shoaib Mohammad in 1989; the highest successful chase is 254/4 by New Zealand in 1989.
| Record | Test | ODI |
|---|---|---|
| Highest team total | 680/8 (New Zealand, 2014) | 318/6 (New Zealand, 2021) |
| Lowest completed total | 42 (New Zealand, 1946) | 74 (New Zealand, 1982) |
| Highest successful chase | 277/3 (Pakistan, 2003) | 254/4 (New Zealand, 1989) |
| Highest individual score | Brendon McCullum 302 (2014) | Shoaib Mohammad 126* (1989) |
| Best bowling | Richard Hadlee 7/23 (1976) | Terry Alderman 5/17 (1982) |
| Most runs at the ground | Kane Williamson 1,497 | Martin Crowe 345 |
| Most wickets at the ground | Tim Southee 61 | Danny Morrison 16 |
| Average first-innings total | 314 | 219 |
About Basin Reserve
The Basin Reserve in Wellington is a cricket field in the middle of a traffic roundabout and one of the few sports grounds in the world protected as a heritage site. The wind off Cook Strait is part of every match here. It staged its first Test in 1930 and has seen New Zealand's greatest batting feat: Brendon McCullum's 302 against India in 2014, the country's first Test triple hundred, 23 years after Martin Crowe fell for 299 against Sri Lanka at the same ground. Kane Williamson has scored 1,497 Test runs here, and Richard Hadlee's 7 for 23 against India in 1976 is the best bowling, while Tim Southee and Chris Martin have taken 61 and 60 Test wickets at the ground. Batting second has paid: sides batting second have won 29 Tests to 15 for the side batting first. The ground has also staged 31 ODIs, and New Zealand have won 14 of them.
Basin Reserve in numbers
Basin Reserve, in Wellington, New Zealand, has staged 68 Tests and 31 one-day internationals in CricArcade's archives. The first was a Test between New Zealand and England in 1930, and the most recent international here was in 2025. Its Tests span 90 years and more.
In Tests
Of the 68 Tests played at Basin Reserve, 24 were drawn (35%), 15 won by the side batting first and 29 by the side batting second. Only 34% of decided Tests have gone to the side batting first; chasing has been the stronger hand here. New Zealand have played 68 of those Tests and won 23, lost 21 and drawn or tied 24, a win rate of 34%. The most frequent visitors have been England (12) and Australia (11).
The average first-innings total was 351 in the 1950s (3 Tests) and 405 in the 2020s (5 Tests). Its busiest decade was the 2000s, with 15 Tests, against 13 in the 2010s.
Kane Williamson has made more Test runs here than anyone, 1,497 in 26 innings with 5 hundreds, and Tim Southee has taken the most wickets, 61 in 17 Tests.
- Highest total: New Zealand's 680 for 8 (2014)
- Lowest completed innings: New Zealand's 42 (1946)
- Highest individual score: Brendon McCullum, 302 against India (2014)
- Best bowling: Richard Hadlee, 7 for 23 (1976)
- Heaviest defeat: New Zealand, by an innings and 322 runs against West Indies (1995)
- Closest finish: New Zealand won by 1 run (2023)
In one-day internationals
Of the 31 ODIs played at Basin Reserve, sides batting first have won 16 and chasing sides 12; 3 produced no result. Decided ODIs have split close to evenly between the side batting first and the side batting second. New Zealand have played 28 of those ODIs and won 14, lost 11 and tied or had no result in 3, a win rate of 50%. The most frequent visitors have been Pakistan (7) and Australia (6).
The average first-innings total was 197 in the 1980s (5 ODIs) and 289 in the 2010s (3 ODIs). Its busiest decade was the 1990s, with 19 ODIs, against 5 in the 1980s.
Martin Crowe has made more ODI runs here than anyone, 345 in 9 innings, and Danny Morrison has taken the most wickets, 16 in 9 ODIs.
- Highest total: New Zealand's 318 for 6 (2021)
- Lowest completed innings: New Zealand's 74 (1982)
- Highest individual score: Shoaib Mohammad, 126 not out against New Zealand (1989)
- Best bowling: Terry Alderman, 5 for 17 (1982)
- Widest win by runs: New Zealand, by 164 runs over Bangladesh (2021)
- Closest finish: India won by 1 run (1990)
Tests at Basin Reserve
68 Tests, 1930 to 2024. The first was New Zealand v England on 24 January 1930: match drawn.
- Won batting first
- Won batting second
- Drawn / tied
First-innings totals by decade
| Decade | Tests | Average first-innings total |
|---|---|---|
| 1930s | 2 | 402 |
| 1940s | 1 | 42 |
| 1950s | 3 | 351 |
| 1960s | 5 | 249 |
| 1970s | 4 | 329 |
| 1980s | 9 | 357 |
| 1990s | 11 | 273 |
| 2000s | 15 | 293 |
| 2010s | 13 | 329 |
| 2020s | 5 | 405 |
Most runs
| Batter | Team | Inns | Runs | 100s |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kane Williamson | New Zealand | 26 | 1,497 | 5 |
| Ross Taylor | New Zealand | 23 | 1,279 | 3 |
| Martin Crowe | New Zealand | 17 | 1,123 | 5 |
| Brendon McCullum | New Zealand | 28 | 1,021 | 2 |
| John Wright | New Zealand | 23 | 1,005 | 3 |
Most wickets
| Bowler | Team | Tests | Wkts |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tim Southee | New Zealand | 17 | 61 |
| Chris Martin | New Zealand | 14 | 60 |
| Daniel Vettori | New Zealand | 20 | 57 |
| Richard Hadlee | New Zealand | 12 | 53 |
| Trent Boult | New Zealand | 11 | 48 |
Test records
- Highest total
- 680/8
- Lowest completed total
- 42
- Highest score
- 302 · Brendon McCullum
- Best bowling
- 7/23 · Richard Hadlee
- Biggest innings win
- Inns & 322
- Biggest win by runs
- 217 runs
Closest finishes
- New Zealand won by 1 run (2023)
ODIs at Basin Reserve
31 ODIs, 1975 to 2025. The first was New Zealand v England on 9 March 1975: No result.
- Won batting first
- Won batting second
- Tied / NR
First-innings totals by decade
| Decade | ODIs | Average first-innings total |
|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 1 | 227 |
| 1980s | 5 | 197 |
| 1990s | 19 | 210 |
| 2000s | 1 | 233 |
| 2010s | 3 | 289 |
| 2020s | 2 | 248 |
Most runs
| Batter | Team | Inns | Runs | 100s |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Martin Crowe | New Zealand | 9 | 345 | 0 |
| Andrew Jones | New Zealand | 8 | 311 | 0 |
| Nathan Astle | New Zealand | 8 | 285 | 0 |
| Ken Rutherford | New Zealand | 8 | 260 | 0 |
| Adam Parore | New Zealand | 9 | 201 | 0 |
Most wickets
| Bowler | Team | ODIs | Wkts |
|---|---|---|---|
| Danny Morrison | New Zealand | 9 | 16 |
| Chris Harris | New Zealand | 12 | 13 |
| Gavin Larsen | New Zealand | 14 | 12 |
| Matt Henry | New Zealand | 4 | 12 |
| Wasim Akram | Pakistan | 3 | 10 |
ODI records
- Highest total
- 318/6
- Lowest completed total
- 74
- Highest score
- 126* · Shoaib Mohammad
- Best bowling
- 5/17 · Terry Alderman
- Biggest win by runs
- 164 runs
Closest finishes
- India won by 1 run (1990)
Most recent matches
- Sri Lanka v New Zealand (ODI, 5 January 2025): New Zealand won by 9 wickets
- Australia v New Zealand (Test, 29 February 2024): Australia won by 172 runs
- New Zealand v Sri Lanka (Test, 17 March 2023): New Zealand won by an innings and 58 runs
- England v New Zealand (Test, 24 February 2023): New Zealand won by 1 run
- New Zealand v Bangladesh (ODI, 26 March 2021): New Zealand won by 164 runs
- New Zealand v West Indies (Test, 11 December 2020): New Zealand won by an innings and 12 runs
- India v New Zealand (Test, 21 February 2020): New Zealand won by 10 wickets
- Bangladesh v New Zealand (Test, 8 March 2019): New Zealand won by an innings and 12 runs
- Sri Lanka v New Zealand (Test, 15 December 2018): Match drawn
- New Zealand v Pakistan (ODI, 19 January 2018): New Zealand won by 15 runs
Sources
- CricArcade Test archive: 68 scorecards at this ground
- CricArcade ODI archive: 31 scorecards at this ground
- Figures compiled from the official match scorecards in CricArcade's archive