Cricket at the MCG

Commonwealth Bank One Day International series
Australia vs New Zealand, MCG, 2:15 PM

The day-nighter yesterday was absolutely awesome, being at the cricket is definitely a zillion times better than watching it on TV, but of-course it won’t convince anyone who doesn’t already get into it.

We were sitting on the front row of the fourth level that provided an excellent view of the pitch, when we were the striker’s end, our view was over third man, alternating overs for non-striker’s end, we were over mid-wicket. Just in-case you don’t know where the pitch lies at the G, that put us just above Bay 13.
What an absolute blast!
There is just as much entertainment from Bays 9 through 13 than there is from the match! They are the rowdiest bunch of sports fans you’ll ever see and hear, and my god will you hear them! Objects banned included beach-balls so of-course there were hundreds bouncing around throughout the match, and each time one started up, the Police and the MCG Security team would of-course valiantly try and grab them when they bounced to the aisles which of-course they innevitably would at some point. The entire block would then proceed to boo and chant. Truth be told, most of them spent that much time facing in every direction but the pitch, I wonder how much cricket they saw at all! Every 10 minutes or so someone is escorted from the ground, with one or two even wrestled down and cuffed. Aside from that little bit of roughing up for the more drunk of the Bay thirteeners, there was no violence at all.

Banning the Mexican-wave was absolutely useless, and there were two ways they got started. Firstly, whenever anyone from Bays 9 – 13 spotted someone on their mobile waving their arms and trying to make contact with someone else on the other side of the ground or up in the stands, they’d all get up and wave at them with both arms and yell. It would ripple across the cround with everyone jumping up to take the piss, and by the time it got past the Member’s stand, it had turned into a wave. When Bay 13 noticed it coming back, they’d all start thundering on the seats and stamping their feet until it got back to them, at which point the wave was well and truly on. Of-course the second way was to not have a single person start it so they couldn’t be pinned for ejection. The whole of Bay 13 would just start counting down and then start the wave together. A lot of the time it would die by the time it got to Bay 10 because they weren’t paying attention, but often they’d take it on and the wave would start.

Oh yeah, there was something else going on at the G wasn’t there???

The cricket was absolutely brilliant, with both teams putting in a great effort. Once again NZ played their guts out and just fell short. Watching Ricky Ponting reach 50, then 100 was amazing, and when he got his century our roars were deafening, so too once he was dismissed shortly after. Hodge then picked up the pace and won it for us with 99 not out, having made most of his runs in his partnership with Ponting.
All in all NZ’s bowling was on sharper form than ours, but what they lack is more solid bowlers. It seemed like Ponting and Hodge were content to tap balls out to third-man and take singles and doubles, but what they were doing was batting out Vettori and Bond, both who were bowling well, but failed to do much damage, Vettori only taking one wicket. Gillespie then was on his own and can’t generate enough momentum without the combined pressure of the other guys, and none of the other bowlers could either contain enough runs or take wickets to mount the pressure. It was our batting form that just lifted us above the ability of NZ’s bowling, and a shame too as there was a clear point at which Flemming’s face went from expecting a win to knowing his side was going to lose yet again after doing their best.

There’s more to say, but it’ll drag even longer than it already has – the Aussie side come out and warm up in-front of the general admin seats (ie, right it front of us, Bays 1 – 13 of the Southern Stand) before the match, and when NZ were practicing chasing high-catches, the crowd would errupt with cheers when they dropped a ball.
Watching the game for real provides a really great perspective on just how far apart everyone is, and how quickly the ball actually travels. The broadcast view directly above the wicket really does kill the sense of speed, and when you see a ball fly at 150km/h for the first time, you realise just how quick it’s shooting down the pitch.

I heartily encourage anyone who’s into cricket and has a spare $35 to join us for the first final this Friday if there are still tickets available. While rock-concerts and sporting events are two entirely different things, there’s nothing quite like hearing a chear from 48,000 people when they see their team perform so well, and my god it is loud. Be sure to bring plenty of water, snacks, sunscreen and most importantly sunnies! The glare will kill you without them in the full light of the sun, especially on that golfing green of a field.