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McLean Park is a sports ground in Napier, New Zealand which has hosted international rugby union and cricket matches, along with provincial games. It is the home of the Central Districts cricket team and the Hawke's Bay Rugby Union. It has hosted international cricket matches since 1979, the first Test at the ground taking place in between New Zealand and Pakistan in February of that year. and has been home to ten Test matches in total. It has a capacity of 10,500 spectators for international matches. McLean Park has also staged 42 One Day International (ODI) matches, the first of which was in 1983 when New Zealand defeated Sri Lanka during the latter's 1982–83 tour of Australia and New Zealand.
In cricket, a five-wicket haul (also known as a "five-for" or "fifer") refers to a bowler taking five or more wickets in a single innings. This is regarded as a notable achievement. The first bowler to take a five-wicket haul in a Test match at McLean Park was Imran Khan in the inaugural Test; he finished with bowling figures of 5 wickets for 106 runs. Sri Lanka's Chaminda Vaas became the first cricketer to take two five-wicket hauls at McLean Park, when he took 5 for 47 and 5 for 43 in the second and fourth innings of the first Test of Sri Lanka's 1994–95 tour of New Zealand. The best figures in Test cricket at McLean Park are 7 for 47, taken by England's Ryan Sidebottom against New Zealand in March 2008. Chris Martin has taken the most recent five-wicket haul at McLean Park, with figures of 6 wickets for 26 runs against Zimbabwe in January 2012. As of August 2015, thirteen bowlers have taken fourteen Test match five-wicket hauls at the ground.
As of August 2015, five bowlers have taken five-wicket hauls during ODIs at McLean Park. Zimbabwe's fast-medium pace bowler Charlie Lock was the first to achieve the feat when he took 5 wickets for 44 runs against New Zealand during their tour in 1995–96. The most recent five-wicket haul in ODIs was made by England's James Anderson who took 5 for 34 in February 2013. The best figures in ODI cricket are 5 for 30, secured by Sri Lanka's spin bowler Muttiah Muralitharan against New Zealand in March 1995. Muralitharan is the only other bowler to take two five-wicket hauls at McLean Park, having taken 5 for 64 in the same match in which Vaas took his two five-wicket hauls. As of August 2015, no Twenty20 International (T20I) matches have been played at McLean Park.