Carisbrook was the home of cricket and rugby in Dunedin until 2011 when Dunedin’s new covered stadium was opened. Only 10 cricket test matches were played at Carisbrook but some were the stuff of sporting legend. “Carisbrook” is a song from the self-titled album by Auckland band The Naenae Express about the NZ cricketer the band is named after, and his heroic last wicket stand in a test match at Carisbrook in 1985.
“There’s plenty of runs to get/ but nobody’s got them yet.” Chatfield came in to bat at No. 11, and proceeded to score an unbeaten 21 off 84 balls, the last wicket partnership with his captain adding the crucial 50 runs that New Zealand needed to win the match. It remained Chatfield’s highest Test score.
The band operating under the name The Naenae Express create a peculiarly summery New Zealand kind of sports-themed psychedelic pop, at times incorporating a kind of stoned Pavement and Beta Band vibe. Don’t know much about The Naenae Express other than Scott Kendall being the cricket-loving genius behind these well-crafted tunes. The self-titled album is out via their bandcamp page, with a cassette to come sometime.
Pop Lib 