Cricket legend Bert Sutcliffe's memory, and his sporting deeds, will be perpetuated by the naming of the Oval at Lincoln University as the Bert Sutcliffe Oval.

New Zealand Cricket has broken the mould of reticent sports bodies in this country who have refused to acknowledge the playing heroes of the past by naming suitable facilities after their leading players.

The ground at the High Performance Centre, and the pavilion first used at the ground during the recent CricInfo Women's World Cup which was won by New Zealand's CLEAR White Ferns, were made possible by the contribution of benefactor Michael Watt.

Watt was in attendance at a function at the ground today to announce the naming of the Bert Sutcliffe Oval.

Watt, who has gifted nearly $2million to New Zealand Cricket over the past three years to build residential accommodation at the New Zealand Cricket Academy at Lincoln and to help the CLEAR Black Caps prepare for the 1999 World Cup and tour of England, has also made another donation of around $1million for the Academy.

In announcing the new name for the ground NZC chief executive Christopher Doig said:

"Bert Sutcliffe is a man of dignity and integrity. He is remembered not only for his outstanding skill as a batsman but also for his unfailing dedication to his teammates and his country."

He added that Sutcliffe exemplified everything New Zealand Cricket would want from its young cricketers.

"He played the game before everything else, the game before self was epitomised by him," Doig said.

Doig also introduced Watt to the audience and said of him: "Michael Watt is another unique individual and passionate New Zealander.

"It is rare in this day and age to meet a benefactor who is determined that his name should not appear as a testament to his generosity. It was Michael Watt's wish that this Oval be named after Bert Sutcliffe, a decision while will find favour among all fans of the game."

Doig also related that when he became chief executive of NZC in 1995 he had only been in his position briefly when he received a phone call from Watt offering any assistance to help NCA.

"I was completely green. I didn't understand about TV rights. But I checked up on who Michael Watt was.

"In 1995 the board of NZC had been dreaming about building a high performance facility but had only a million dollars in reserve. But it was imperative that we develop a high performance centre.

"I went to CSI (Watt's television rights company) to see what they could do and Michael Watt said he would do it through the company, he would do it personally.

"The Hadlee/Watt pavilions to accommodate players at the Academy were entirely funded by him.

He also helped provide for the preparation of the New Zealand team's build up for the World Cup and the tour of England. And much of that success of making the World Cup semi finals and beating England 2-1 in the Tests was attributed by Doig to the resource Watt provided.

Watt said he would have felt extremely uncomfortable putting his name to the Bert Sutcliffe Oval.

"It will mean a lot more to future generations that it is named after him," Watt said.

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