Adelaide perfect setting for opening clash

Whilst you are sitting back and admiring the intensity of Test match cricket at it’s best over the next week, take your mind momentarily away from the heat of the battle and focus on the facilities.

Adelaide Oval is in my view one of the two most picturesque grounds around. The other is Newlands. Les Burdett is the curator at this magnificent venue and has been so for some 20 odd years now. He is recognized throughout the game as the principal groundsman and has done an extraordinary job.

Upon closer scrutiny during the first Test you will observe the outfield is billiard table like and the pitch will bring out the best in the players over the five days. A splendid church with an impressive steeple nestles just behind the scoreboard and given the slightest chance any ‘crow-eater’ will proudly boast that the quaint city of Adelaide is the city of churches and chapels…….Ian, Trevor and Greg Chappell.

Let’s get back to the track. The pitch is one where nine thousand, nine hundred and ninety nine times out of ten thousand, the captain winning the toss breathes a sigh of relief first and then elects to bat. The rationale being that the track will be a little lively in the first session and a half of the Test with an even yet not intimidating covering of grass. It won’t be a cakewalk for the opening batsmen but that’s vital to bind a pitch over five days. Following the initial challenge it will then become a magnificent batting strip and last that way for the next day and a half. Late on day two the spinners’ eyes will light up and they will develop a little skip in their step for the remainder of the Test. This will bring an exhilarating dimension to the game at put the various expertise levels on show of both batsmen and bowlers.

On day three it becomes enthralling. Whilst the quality spinners are whirring away from generally one end, the other is accommodating the rotation of the seam bowlers. They too will be excited by the ‘up and down’ bounce on offer. Both will be extracting generous assistance from the general wear and tear at times – and there is nothing wrong with that. Let me repeat……there is nothing wrong with that. You will agree as you perch yourself on the edge of your lounge chair fascinated by the various chapters of the book unfolding before your eyes. The variance in bounce of the Adelaide Oval track is accelerated as you go from day two to day five.

As Les said this week, “It does play up and down towards the end and I think that’s good for the game of cricket, that’s where the results go. That’s when it becomes harder to bat and that’s when class comes in – guys that make runs on the last few days are bloody good batsmen who have good techniques.”

At the end of the first Test, Les Burdett will stand proud as a mastermind who has contributed enormously to a remarkable spectacle.

By the way…….it’s a cop out if you don’t watch it live.