Saturday, December 15, 2007

India’s tour of Australia 2007-08: Adelaide Oval

Already India vs Australia four match Test series caught the attention to all cricket fans. People started searching to know the match schedule and venues. In my previous post I have written about three others Test cricket venues. These are Melbourne Cricket Ground, Sydney Cricket Ground and W.A.C.A. Ground, Perth. Now, in this post you will get another venue about Adelaide Oval where both India and Australia will play their last Test match from 24th Jan to 28th Jan, 2008.

The Adelaide Oval is a sports stadium in Adelaide, South Australia. It is one of Australia’s most picturesque test cricket ground. It is situated in parklands with the backdrop of St.Peter's Cathedral. It is established in 1871. The Oval is managed by the South Australian Cricket Association (SACA). The current curator is Les Burdett. It currently holds approximately 32,000-34,000 spectators. The first match was played between England and Australia at the Oval from 12-16 December 1884. In this match England team beat Australia by eight wickets. In 1894/1895 Albert Trott collected 8/43 on debut against England, the best ever single-innings Test match figures at the ground. The Adelaide Oval scoreboard, designed by architect Kenneth Milne, began service on 3 November 1911. Donald Bradman scored the highest score ever at the ground in Test Cricket, compiling 299* against South Africa in 1931-32. In 1932-33, the Bodyline affair reached its nadir at The Oval when Bill Woodfull and Bert Oldfield were struck, and on the third day mounted police patrolled to keep the 50, 962 spectators in order. It was the record crowd (50,962) for the cricket at the ground. In 1947-48, Australia scored 674 against India that is still the highest team total at the ground in Test matches. The ground has hosted may other sports than cricket. The biggest attendance of 62,543 was the record for the 1965 SANFL Grand Final between Port Adelaide and Sturt. The first One-Day International match was played at the ground between Australia and West Indies in 1975-76 which Australia won by 5 wickets. In October 1982, vs Victoria, David Hookes hit a 43 minute, 34 ball century - in some respects the fastest hundred in history. Indian batsman Rahul Dravid scored double century in this venue.

The shape of this ground is true oval. So, it is difficult to hit six in straight. The western public and members grandstands and the famous scoreboard are all items listed on the City of Adelaide Heritage Register, and two news stands finished in 2003 have raised the capacity to 34,000 (for football) and 32,000 for cricket.

Many records have been made in this ground by many veteran players. No doubt, we can hope to see any new records in this venue. And that is not unexpected. Let us see who is going to break the record.

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