The Oval cricket ground in Adelaide is full of history and beauty, discovers Ranjita Biswas
“Your team is coming to play here this season. Let’s see who wins,” the eyes in the cheerful face of the gentleman in a bright blazer twinkled. He was showing me around the Oval cricket ground in Adelaide, capital of South Australia. Not so familiar with Test schedules of cricket teams I checked once back home and yes, the last Test match between Australia and India was going to be played at the Oval on January 24, 2012. The Australian tour of the Indian team takes off in December starting in Melbourne.
The Oval is regarded as one of the most beautiful grounds in Australia, perhaps the world. It is shaped like a capital D. More than a hundred years ago when the ground was laid out in 1871 it was circled by a cycling track on the edge of the grass and a picket fence lay between the spectators and the riders.
Beyond the scoreboard on the northern side the beautiful edifice of the St. Peter’s Cathedral rises the horizon. The Edwardian scoreboard has its own story. Designed by architect Kenneth Milne it was erected in 1911 and when it completed 100 years recently, a ceremony was held on the occasion. It is also listed on the City of Adelaide Heritage Register. Well, this scoreboard really scores (no pun intended)!
Adding beauty to the Oval ground are the luxurious Moreton Bay figs which were planted way back in 1890s. As beloved of the sports lovers are the grassy mounds at the southern and northern sides which they call ‘the Hills”. They were created in 1898 with earth brought in from the nearby River Torrens. “Those days whole families used to come with picnic baskets , lolled on the grass and watched the game in a holiday mood,” I was told.
It is home of the South Australia cricket team, nicknamed the Southern Redbacks. But Rugby and Football are also played here. In fact, with growing popularity of football and more spectators expected, the ground is being refurbished. The government is contributing millions of dollars for the revamping. Whether the beauty of the pretty ground would be retained only time will tell. But it was nice to see that while constructing the new building the old edifice has been retained and even the original creepers have been replanted to give the authentic look.
The seating capacity at the ground at the moment is 36,000 but swells during important matches. Record books show that the maximum crowd at a cricket game was 50,962 during the infamous “Bodyline” test in 1932. Mounted police had to patrol the field to keep the restive crowd in check. For those familiar with the Bodyline tactic English captain Douglas Jardine used to contain the great Donald Bradman during the Ashes 1932-33 tour and which even led to discussions in the Australian Parliament on this assault on the tradition of cricket, this was moment to stop and ponder indeed. It also brought me memories of watching the Bodyline mini series which was shown on Indian TV in the 1980s.
Talking of Sir Bradman, the Oval has another prized location- a museum devoted to the cricketer’s memorabilia, the Bradman Collection. Bradman joined the South Australian Cricket Association (SACA) club though he played for New South Wales earlier and made Adelaide his home. His score in the first three innings? 117, 233 and 357. South Australia apparently also ‘imported’ players from time to time. The most famous of them was Sir Gary Sobers in the 1960s.
In the Bradman Collection which opened in 2008 there are over a hundred items from Sir Donald’s personal and professional collection which he donated. Bats used by Bradman at various times are on display including the one he used while scoring his 100th century in first-class cricket against India in November, 1947 at the Sydney Cricket Ground. There is also his famous Baggy Green Cap, given in 1948 while touring England. This has apparently become a tradition with the Australian team, signifying excellence in the game. Obviously, it is highly coveted and is cherished by a player . Also on display is the Grundig TK 5 tape-recorder and microphone bought in London in 1948. For the next 40 years Bradman used it to record practice runs of his extremely entertaining speeches.
The SACA regularly conducts tours for visitors supervised by knowledgeable guides. They can even see from where the players emerge, where the commentators sit and the players have their lunch. The tours run all through the year except on match days. It is indeed a popular destination for cricket lovers.
(PIX credit Ranjita Biswas) (TWF)
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