Celebrating 175 years - Melbourne Cricket Club

MCG EVENTS
Cricket’s next
generation
steps up
Australia’s transition to an era beyond
Ricky Ponting and Michael Hussey
was one of the more intriguing
elements on show at the MCG during the
recently completed summer of cricket.
A total of 322,069 people attended the
MCG – a healthy portion of them MCC
members – to see the annual Boxing Day Test,
two one-day internationals, a Twenty20
international, four T20 Big Bash League (BBL)
matches and a steady diet of Sheffield Shield
and domestic one-day matches.
The most eventful contest was that between
cross-town rivals Melbourne Stars and
Melbourne Renegades in the BBL on January
6. A crowd of 46,581 – an Australian
domestic cricket record – saw the Renegades
win comfortably.
The attendance broke the previous record, also
at the MCG, which was set in January 2010
between Victoria and Tasmania in a BBL match.
The match, and the record crowd, was
overshadowed by an on-field confrontation
between Shane Warne, the Melbourne Stars
captain, and Marlon Samuels, the enigmatic
Renegades West Indies all-rounder. Both
players were charged with several breaches of
Cricket Australia’s Code of Behaviour.
After losing a tight Test series against world
champions South Africa in November and
early-December, and bidding farewell to the
retiring Ponting in the process, the Aussies arrived
at the MCG for the Boxing Day Test leading its
three-match series against Sri Lanka one-nil.
Less than two-and-a-half days later, to the
disappointment of those keen to see a lengthy
contest, Australia had trounced Sri Lanka by
an innings and 201 runs. The Test attendance
was an encouraging 137,455 for the three
days, including 67,138 on Boxing Day.
Test debutant Jackson Bird and man-of-thematch
Mitchell Johnson set the tone, helping to
roll the visitors for just 156 halfway through
TOP LEFT: Jackson Bird starred in the MCG Test.
ABOVE: Phil Hughes celebrates his debut ton.
RIGHT: Shane Warne gets to grips with Marlon
Samuels in a turbulent BBL clash.
the opening day. In reply, Michael Clarke
joined the MCG century makers’ honour board
in the home team dressing room with a classy
106, while Johnson’s hard-hitting 92 in the
lower order was invaluable.
Sri Lanka’s second innings – and the match
– ended abruptly just after lunch on the third
day, with three of the visiting batsmen,
including superstar Kumar Sangakkara, unable
to bat due to injury. It was the shortest Boxing
Day Test since England’s innings victory in
1986-87, something we hope is not repeated
this December!
Veteran Hussey’s retirement announcement
and subsequent omission from the one-day
international squad paved the way for bright
performances by two Australian batsmen with
few ODI matches to their name.
On January 11, Phil Hughes became the first
Australian to score a one-day international
century on debut in the home side’s 107-run
win over Sri Lanka. Four weeks later, Adam
Voges celebrated his return with 112 not out
from 106 balls as Australia completed a five-nil
drubbing of West Indies.
In between, Australia’s stocks in the
Twenty20 format plummeted when it lost to
Sri Lanka at the MCG on January 28 to lose
the series two-nil.
The Victorian Bushrangers lost a thrilling
RYOBI Cup Final to Queensland at the MCG
on February 27 but, at the time of going to
print, they were well placed to host the
Sheffield Shield final, scheduled for March
22-26. We wish them well.
10 MCC NEWS March 2013