Cricket at the MCG...
Jan. 14th, 2013 07:58 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
khiemtranThe Boxing Day Test is one of Melbourne's great sporting events. And, unlike some of the other famous events, like the tennis at the Australian Open or the AFL Grand Final, it's actually quite cheap to go and watch.
The main reason for this is both the cavernous size of the Melbourne Cricket Ground, and the fact that a test match can take up to five days. This year, the crowd is also down because the hosted side is Sri Lanka - formidable in the shorter forms of the game, but they've never won a test on Australian soil. This is the first session of Day Three. Australia is just about to be dismissed for a massive first innings lead over Sri Lanka. Pace bowler Mitchell Johnson is going to be stranded eight runs short of a century after tailender, Nathan Lyon can't resist a rash shot against a short ball. Meanwhile, Hsiu Lin is somewhere on Bridge Road, one of Melbourne's fashion outlet areas, shopping (which for some reason is more exciting than watching two teams both wearing the same colour throw a ball at each other).
This is Liem's second ever cricket trip (we saw a session of last year's test too). We're seated in the alcohol-free family zone, only a few rows back from the fence. It's a happy, knowledgeable crowd.
Even if their taste in headwear may be questionable.
Each of the seating zones have different characters. Across the ground, in Bay 13, the fans are getting rowdy, although not as bad as they did on Boxing Day itself. Meanwhile in the Members section (on the right of the photo below), a much higher standard of decorum is expected. Then there's the Sri Lankan fan zone, full of noise and colour. Although it's a bit disappointing that there aren't more Sri Lankan fans in the family zone: one of the pleasures of watching a test match is sitting with fans of the visiting team and having conversations about cricket. Anywhere in world that a Kenyan, a Pakistani or a West Indian meet, the chances are they'll always have at least one thing to talk about. (Incidentally, Melbourne has quite a large Sri Lankan community and several of the Sri Lankan team actually live here.)
This year, there's also a new distraction: a flying robot camera, suspended by wires. Here it is hovering over the stumps.
Despite a flurry of Sri Lankan wickets falling as they begin their second innings, one session is about all Liem can take, and we leave for lunch by the Yarra. By the time we've finished our wine and pasta, Sri Lanka have already been thrashed. Our plan to beat the rush on the train home fails as we get caught up with an unexpected wave of cricket fans all leaving the city. The man next to me explains how Sri Lanka were skittled by a fired up Mitchell Johnson. That's it for the Boxing Day test, but there's always next year...
The main reason for this is both the cavernous size of the Melbourne Cricket Ground, and the fact that a test match can take up to five days. This year, the crowd is also down because the hosted side is Sri Lanka - formidable in the shorter forms of the game, but they've never won a test on Australian soil. This is the first session of Day Three. Australia is just about to be dismissed for a massive first innings lead over Sri Lanka. Pace bowler Mitchell Johnson is going to be stranded eight runs short of a century after tailender, Nathan Lyon can't resist a rash shot against a short ball. Meanwhile, Hsiu Lin is somewhere on Bridge Road, one of Melbourne's fashion outlet areas, shopping (which for some reason is more exciting than watching two teams both wearing the same colour throw a ball at each other).
This is Liem's second ever cricket trip (we saw a session of last year's test too). We're seated in the alcohol-free family zone, only a few rows back from the fence. It's a happy, knowledgeable crowd.
Even if their taste in headwear may be questionable.
Each of the seating zones have different characters. Across the ground, in Bay 13, the fans are getting rowdy, although not as bad as they did on Boxing Day itself. Meanwhile in the Members section (on the right of the photo below), a much higher standard of decorum is expected. Then there's the Sri Lankan fan zone, full of noise and colour. Although it's a bit disappointing that there aren't more Sri Lankan fans in the family zone: one of the pleasures of watching a test match is sitting with fans of the visiting team and having conversations about cricket. Anywhere in world that a Kenyan, a Pakistani or a West Indian meet, the chances are they'll always have at least one thing to talk about. (Incidentally, Melbourne has quite a large Sri Lankan community and several of the Sri Lankan team actually live here.)
This year, there's also a new distraction: a flying robot camera, suspended by wires. Here it is hovering over the stumps.
Despite a flurry of Sri Lankan wickets falling as they begin their second innings, one session is about all Liem can take, and we leave for lunch by the Yarra. By the time we've finished our wine and pasta, Sri Lanka have already been thrashed. Our plan to beat the rush on the train home fails as we get caught up with an unexpected wave of cricket fans all leaving the city. The man next to me explains how Sri Lanka were skittled by a fired up Mitchell Johnson. That's it for the Boxing Day test, but there's always next year...
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Date: 2013-01-15 11:33 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-01-16 09:15 am (UTC)I've taken Liem the last two years now (although only for a single session each), so hopefully this will be the start of a family tradition. (Plus, Hsiu Lin doesn't mind the shopping day...) We were lucky enough to see Jackson Bird's first Test wicket. I wonder if that will be a story to tell one day...