RITV Summer series: Abbreviated ODI at Adelaide Oval

 

 

 

It was a good idea. Not my idea, rather it was the Reverend Red’s (aka Stuart Traeger) suggestion we spend a Friday evening at the cricket.

Just as we found our seats, the Australian captain, Coldplay fan Pat Cummins, was trudging off towards the dressing room, or possibly to the dug out for a white ball game.

Australia had slumped to 9/146 in the 32nd over.

During lunch I had strategically parked my vehicle in the Trinity College senior school student carpark, very near the side gate, in the hope of a slick exit onto Main North Road, ahead of the ‘school traffic’.

After I had wished my Year 8 class a wonderful weekend, all was going well on the traffic front. As I tuned into the game on Grandstand, with Darren Lehmann appropriately commentating as I drove through his old stomping grounds on Adelaide’s northern outskirts, Australia lost a steady stream of wickets: Inglis, Marnus, Hardie, Maxwell.

Australia eventually limped to an underwhelming 163.

Pakistan lost one wicket in the chase, we looked at our watches as the winning runs were struck, fittingly another six off Zampa into the crowd in front of the SACA members.

It was 7:19pm, the sun still high in the sky. A ‘day-nighter’ that finished well before the night!

The company was great, the venue, to quote Richie Benaud: “the prettiest ground in the world”, the game: forgettable.

I was back in the Barossa just after dark, as an old farmer might say.

 

 

The Australia versus India test series starting next week in Perth is a completely different scenario to the meaningless ODI-T20 series filling some pay TV space at present.

 

 

As a twelve-year-old, I remember the anticipation of going to my first day of Test cricket, Australia versus the mighty West Indies at the Gabba in 1979.

The almost three-hour drive from Kingaroy meant an early start, the family of five piling into the VW Golf, and off to the ‘big smoke’. Lunch would have been packed the night before, along with hats and sun cream.

This was the era of either picking up your ticket at the booth at the venue, or having the tickets posted out. The excitement of seeing the Ticketek envelope at the Post Office meant the big day was not far off!

1 December 1979.

We, as sports mad youngsters from the country, were at the Gabba, seeing our heroes in the flesh. Australia was batting on Day One, and the four-pronged Windies pace attack were doing their thing.

At times, the visiting team seemed to be in slow motion as they wandered into position at the change of overs, however there was nothing slow motion about their bowling!

I remember the buzz around the (old) Gabba, complete with dog track and the old scoreboard. It seemed every second person had a transistor radio. The dulcet tones of Alan McGilvray seemed to be everywhere …

“… and to this ball from Croft, Laird is defending, playing straight back to the bowler.”

The wicket-keeper seemed to be closer to the fence than to the pitch, and the red ball was difficult to see at times.

Not far up Ipswich Road from the Brisbane Cricket Ground was McDonalds in Annerley.

Another source of much anticipation was the post-cricket stop at McDonalds, for a Big Mac and a ‘free’ cricket poster, the 1979-80 version featuring the teams in the triangular one-day series: Australia, England and West Indies.

 What a West Indies line up:

Greenidge, Haynes, Richards, Kallicharran, Rowe, King, Murray, Roberts, Garner, Holding, Croft.

The Australians:

Laird, McCosker, Border, G Chappell, Hughes, Hookes, Marsh, Bright, Lillee, Hogg, Thomson.

Australia was bowled out for 268. Laird made 92 on debut. The West Indies replied with 441, including 140 from the master blaster I.V.A. Richards. The match was a draw, but we had seen live Test cricket! Life as a sports mad Year 7 was pretty good! A day at the cricket, a Big Mac and a poster. We were happy.

AUS vs WI Cricket Scorecard, 1st Test at Brisbane, December 01 – 05, 1979

 

Next week’s First Test in Perth will be special. The start of a much-anticipated series against the might of India, coming off a 3-0 home drubbing at the hands of the New Zealand Black Caps. Well played, New Zealand!

Australia has a new opening batsman, who does not open in State cricket. This has caused much debate. McSweeney, the South Australian captain who grew up in Queensland and played schoolboy cricket for Nudgee College.

Imagine the replacement for David Warner, so often in the headlines himself for a variety of reasons, also creating so many varying opinions and comment. I am yet to hear Candice Warner’s opinion of her husband’s replacement, and that is OK. I shan’t be rushing to research her view on the matter.

Bring on Test Cricket, with the ABC cricket book!

 

Barossa Red Wine of the Week:

Spinifex 2022 Garcon. Another great, recent discovery, after a Friday evening at Artisans of Barossa. Both highly recommend.

2022 Garcon – Spinifex Wines

 

Additional links:

The Gabba is a special place! Here are three links to articles about the Gabba which appeared on The Footy Almanac in years gone by. The first is by John Harms. The second is a response to JTH’s piece by Murray Bird. Then there’s a whole suite which all have a Gabba link.

 

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