``Over the past two years Canterbury Cricket's confidence in the venue (Jade Stadium) has deteriorated markedly,'' said Tony Murdoch Canterbury cricket chief executive

Neither party would comment on the impending settlement yesterday, but The Press believes this figure is common ground after months of wrangling between the two parties.

It is believed Canterbury Cricket had sought $120,000 from the VPB, the administrators of the park. This was not only for the aborted game between Canterbury and Northern Districts on December 30, but also for having to shift several other matches off the arena during the season, and the negative impact the cancelled game had.

The Northern Districts game was called off after the wicket was left uncovered the night before, and rain fell.

Canterbury Cricket chief executive Tony Murdoch said yesterday that an agreement was close to being reached. He expected the settlement to be finalised within the next fortnight.

Some of the ``obstacles to achieving an agreement'' had been broken down in negotiations, he said. When The Press put figures to him, he said no document had been signed and any figures were conjecture.

VPB general manager Campbell Prentice said both parties involved had agreed the settlement figure would remain confidential for various reasons. He declined to elaborate on what those were, despite the fact that the issue -- when the wicket was left uncovered it led to the resignation of groundsman Russell Wylie -- was a controversial one which has been debated at length in public.

At last week's announcement of Canterbury Cricket's record loss of $243,338, it was stated that the inability to host the match or agree on compensation had a detrimental affect on the balance sheet.

Murdoch estimated that staging the match between the country's two premier teams, when all New Zealand's leading players were available, had cost Canterbury gate revenue of between $25,000 and $40,000. Because of other problems last year with the late-finishing rugby season, fewer wicket blocks, and limited grass growth, several first-class matches had to be transferred from the ground, including Canterbury's international game against Zimbabwe to Timaru. Relations between Canterbury Cricket and the VPB have been strained in recent seasons and this was alluded to by Murdoch in the annual report. ``Over the past two years Canterbury Cricket's confidence in the venue (Jade Stadium) has deteriorated markedly.

``There is little doubt that the clash of winter and summer seasons, particularly in the months of March and October, and the resultant pressure on the two codes to secure tenure has combined to produce a potentially volatile situation.''