CHRISTCHURCH: Children mingled with cricketing greats in “backyard” matches and Maori warriors shared the stage with morris dancers as the Cricket World Cup opened on Thursday with a vibrant and quirky ceremony in Christchurch.

Thousands of fans crammed leafy Hagley Park to see the launch of the first World Cup in New Zealand and Australia in 23 years, the formal part of which began with a lone bagpiper and ended with a booming fireworks display — the biggest in the city’s history.

The World Cup is the largest event Christchurch has hosted since an earthquake in February 2011 devastated the city’s centre — only a few hundred yards from where Thursday’s festivities took place, claiming the lives of 185 people.

The physical scars of that disaster still remain in the many vacant lots where buildings once stood but the people of Christchurch showed Thursday the city’s spirit remains undimmed.

Mayor Leanne Dalziell said Christchurch was preparing to host the 2011 Rugby World Cup when the earthquake struck, toppling hotels and wrecking venues, forcing matches to be allocated to other centres. She told fans Thursday “we’re back!”

New Zealand prime minister John Key said hosting the event was a major boost for the city.

“The earthquakes robbed this city of a chance to be part of the Rugby World Cup, so it’s only fitting that the Cricket World Cup would have its official opening and its first match here in Christchurch,” he said. “It’s our way of showing the world that Christchurch is back in business.”

International Cricket Council chief executive David Richardson unveiled the World Cup trophy, saying it was a symbol of the ICC’s values of excellence, integrity and inclusion.

Hagley Oval, which will host Saturday’s opening match between New Zealand and Sri Lanka, has hosted first class cricket matches since 1867 but was extensively redeveloped since to become the city’s international cricket venue after the earthquake wrecked Lancaster Park.

A ceremony was also staged in Melbourne, which will stage the other match of Saturday’s double-header between co-hosts Australia and England, where Cricket Australia (CA) chairman Wally Edwards unveiled the World Cup trophy.

“Australia and New Zealand are keen on-field cricket rivals, but there has been a strong trans-Tasman spirit in their joint venture helping to organise this Cricket World Cup over the last 10 years,” he said.

Home grown star Tina Arena headlined the lengthy show, ably supported by R and B star Jessica Mauboy, singer Daryl Braithwaite as well as the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra.

The programme was designed, said organisers, to “reflect the diversity and excitement of the 14 competing nations and include some icons in Australian entertainment”.

Christchurch, meanwhile, also celebrated the city’s resilience as it literally lifted itself from ruins to host the opening and opening match of cricket’s four-yearly festival.

As many as 80 children were joined by current and former cricketing greats including Stephen Fleming, Richard Hadlee and Lasith Malinga in games of backyard cricket played on four giant ovals, divided into 14 individual grounds representing the 14 nations taking part in the world tournament.

Each of the four areas was overlooked by a stage on which cultural performers from Sri Lanka and India, West Indian steel bands, Scottish and Irish dancers and indigenous Maori haka groups — in total more than 1,000 participants, performed for enthralled crowds.

Film director Peter Jackson, who once recorded a 30,000-strong one-day cricket crowd to use as chanting orcs in his “Lord of the Rings” trilogy, also put in an appearance via video screen, as did Kiwi umpire Bill Bowden.

The captains of the teams currently in New Zealand were presented to the crowd with home skipper Brendon McCullum, who lives in Christchurch, getting the loudest cheers when he went up to the stage.

McCullum said “having the first game of the World Cup here in Christchurch after all it’s been through is fantastic”.

“I think it’s a wide open World Cup,” he said. “The nature of wickets we’ll see in Australia and New Zealand are pure wickets and that brings in the match-winners. Every team has match-winners and they can turn the game in 10 or 15 overs.”

Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews said his team’s opening match against New Zealand on Saturday is “going to be a tough contest, it’s going to be an even contest and whoever plays the best cricket will win”.

South Africa captain A.B. de Villiers told fans that while the Proteas had never won the World Cup “we’re as well prepared as we can be and we look forward to taking the trophy home”.

Zimbabwe captain Hamilton Masakadza, whose team play South Africa in their opening match on Sunday, said while the odds were against his team “the good thing about this tournament is the team that plays the best cricket on the day will win the match”.

Published in Dawn February 13th , 2015

On a mobile phone? Get the Dawn Mobile App: Apple Store | Google Play