By Neil Manthorp.
The disappointment of the result at the Melbourne Cricket Ground will fade in the fullness of time and find its place in the resurgence of South African test cricket. It is not the first poor result and it won’t be the last.
There may never again be the high of the nine-wicket victory in 2008 which clinched South Africa’s first-ever series victory on Australian soil, but there is a fact beyond the result to inspire longer-lasting regret.
The Proteas are highly unlikely to play a test match at the MCG again.
Almost 65 000 people watched the first day’s play – more than were attracted on 26 December last year for the Ashes Boxing Day test – and over 150 000 turned up over the course of the four days. That is more spectators than have ever watched an entire series in South Africa.
The fixture is not just one of the greatest events in cricket, it is one of the great sporting events and the touring players who have the opportunity to participate reap rich rewards, benefitting from the intense atmosphere and the realisation that what they do matters. It is a very different experience being informed of a television audience figure and actually seeing that many people populating one of the great stadiums in the world.
The MCG, despite its name, is primarily an Aussie Rules venue. Ten of the 18 teams in the AFL are in the State of Victoria, nine of which are in Melbourne (one is in Geelong) and four of which are based at the MCG. To see the MCG in all its roaring glory, it is necessary to witness a big AFL game between two local rivals – there are many derbies to choose from!
Tickets for the AFL Grand Final are routinely over-subscribed by two or three times the 100 000 capacity and fans wishing to pay for the privilege of being there must undergo the agony of a ‘lottery’ to see if their bid for tickets is successful. If the Adelaide Crows, Brisbane Lions, Fremantle Dockers or Gold Coast Suns reach the Grand Final then tens of thousands of fans will travel to Melbourne, no matter the cost or practicality of doing so.
Cricket fans see the magnificent stadium packed to capacity less regularly. India/Pakistan matches and World Cup finals are the obvious exceptions although, through the course of history, some days of Ashes cricket and even West Indies tours, when the Caribbean dominated test cricket, attracted crowds in excess of 80 000.
The images and records of great sportsmen and women adorn the place. From the corridors behind the executive suites to the coffee-and-pie shops in the furthest corners, from the entrance gates to the nets and the various foyers, sporting heroes are remembered and celebrated. The MCG was the hub of the 1956 Olympics and several stars from the world of athletics are also cherished with bronze statues on the promenade which circles the entire venue.
Access is extraordinarily well-planned. Underground parking serves the elite and a vast parking area adjacent to the stadium caters for the semi-elite. The majority of visitors, however, arrive directly by tram, bus, taxi or train – or on foot from the city centre via wide, amenable walkways. Just imagine – 100 000 people moving in and out of a venue without feeling intimidated or claustrophobic.
Cricket Australia paid CSA a ‘compensation’ fee between 1994 and 2008 for the loss of their own Boxing Day and New Year tests and did so again this year. But if the SA20 establishes itself as hoped, and South Africa continue to host diminishing bilateral tours in ever-decreasing windows, future trips to Australia during the main holiday season will be impossible. It is already confirmed that South Africa will not tour again in four years’ time.
Asked about the chances of the Proteas ever playing a test at the MCG again, CA Chief Executive, Nick Hockley, was realistic: “Not in four years’ time, certainly. Beyond that, who knows. But it doesn’t seem likely.”