Part 3 of the Australian Travelogue
The Pilgrimages- SCG and MCG
Unlike India or Europe, Australia has a relatively very brief history. Its recorded history starts when Captain Cook sailed into this country in 1780. In the 1800’s Australia was the Indian equivalent of Kala Pani – where convicts were sent as punishment.
Over two centuries, it has built some institutions, including its sports stadiums. More contests have been fought in these stadiums than on its battlefields.
Most cricket fans believe that the Lords is the home of cricket but would be surprised to know that it was MCG that hosted the first-ever test match.
The cricket connoisseurs and Tendulkar fans would remember a gate being named after him in the SCG on his 50th birthday.
The nameplate apart from my love for sports piqued my interest and propelled me into going on the SCG tour.
There are two ways you can soak in the atmosphere of a stadium – by watching a match live or going on a tour. We experienced Lords by watching a match live and Wimbledon by going on a guided tour. Both offer distinctly different experiences and given a choice, I would do both for all heritage stadiums.
The SCG & MCG offer guided tours when matches are not played. The chance to experience these stadiums proved irresistible. The first thing we noticed was that of the 20-odd members of our group, more than 60% were Indians – a clear indication of where the love for the sport rests.
Steve Waugh broke Sir Donald Bradman’s record of 29 centuries at the SCG and his larger-than-life statue that stands like a gatekeeper readied us for what is in store.
Ron, our guide was affable and knowledgeable. Close to 70 years of age, his love for the game shone through the guided tour. A tour that took us around and inside the stadium with great views interspersed with anecdotes, history peppered with memorable stories.
Each stand gave a vantage view. It became difficult not to imagine our cricketing heroes turning up as gladiators in the fight to win. For a fleeting moment, I imagined what a privilege it would be to walk on this hallowed piece of land to represent your country and win for it. A few decades of cricket flooded into my mind, Laxman’s wizardry, Tendulkar’s record-breaking solidity and fluency, and the famous Vihari/ Ashwin partnership that was indomitable, indefatigable, and fought hostile opposition, world-class bowling, cramps and blows to the body to stave off defeat. Phew – what a gushing feeling!
The media room- the window to the world provides a bird's eye view of the stadium. I could visualize great commentary from Richie Benaud, and Ravi Shastri getting disseminated from here. Becoming a cricket commentator has been one of my unfulfilled dreams and it stung here.
The beauty of the SCG is that it retained its charm while cohabiting with modernity. The pavilion, the long room, the dressing room – most of them have retained their originality.
My heart swelled with pride seeing the names of VVS, Sachin, Kohli, and Pant on the board featuring the list of Centurions.
The best part of the tour? The dressing room.
The place where strategies were made and converted into realities. We could see where Sachin sat during team meetings, also the places where Steve Smith, David Warner, and Pat Cummins sat during their meetings.
And, the place reserved for the god himself – the table where Sir Bradman sat.
My advice to any cricket-loving Indian tourist to Australia – don’t miss the SCG tour!
This city has carved out its space in several hearts – Brian Lara is one of them – he had named his daughter Sydney.
Melbourne Cricket Ground was the natural next tour. Having seen Kohli dismantle Pakistan in that knock on a loop, missing MCG tour would have been sacrilege.
Bathos is a powerful literary word. Its six letters connote an experience. It means the fall from a sublime high to a ridiculous low.
SCG to MCG was bathos in its starkest form.
MCG was the antithesis of SCG. In its constant quest for upgradation, modernization – the soul of the stadium was compromised. For a stadium that hosted the first test match ever played, the history retained only vestigial presence. Every stand you saw, even the dressing room, the strategy room, save the library – there was nothing nostalgic about them.
At some point, I wondered whether I was in the MCG or the Narendra Modi stadium – modernity had taken it over so much.
The few interesting things we saw/ heard were that since MCG hosted multiple sports, it had portable pitches (you can check out a YouTube video on this) that would be removed and re-laid during cricket seasons, that the MCG membership has a waiting list of 35 years and an anecdote of how the Indian Cricket Team forgot to erase its match strategy and visitors got to see how we thought. It must have made interesting reading.
The MCG was followed by a disappointment. The Rod Laver Arena, the stadium that hosts the Australian Open Tennis was closed to visitors.
Huge disappointment indeed.
Having done our matha tekna (bowing to the Gods) in the sports pilgrimages, it was time to explore the other aspects of the country. Beaches, hikes, and cruises beckoned.
