Christchurch to host South Africa in warm-up match
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The AMI Stadium will be unable to host an international match this year after being damaged by the earthquake that hit Christchurch in February 2011, so Lee Germon, chief executive of the Canterbury Cricket Association, said Hagley Oval, which has never hosted an international match, was selected as a venue. "The chance to play against a high-quality international side will be welcomed by the Canterbury cricket fans," Germon said. "It's a real bonus for the Canterbury region after the damaged AMI Stadium meant we didn't have a suitable venue to host an international match this year.
"I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Christchurch City Council. With the AMI Stadium unavailable, they realise how important it is to get events of this calibre for the region and acted quickly to give consent and offered their full support."
Apart from Christchurch, South Africa will play matches in Wellington, Hamilton, Auckland, Napier and Dunedin during their tour in February-March 2012.
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