Sydney Cricket Ground

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Sydney Cricket Ground
The SCG, The Garrison
Ground information
Location	Moore Park, Sydney
Established	1848
Seating capacity	44,002
Owner	NSW Government
Operator	Sydney Cricket Ground Trust
End names	Paddington, Randwick
First Test	Aus v Eng, Feb 17-21, 1882
Last Test	Aus v Eng, Jan 2-6, 2007
First ODI	Aus v Eng, Jan 13, 1979
Last ODI	Aus v Eng, Feb 11, 2007
Stands
M. A. Noble, Bradman, Dally Messenger, Bill O'Reilly, Doug Walters, Yabba's Hill, Clive Churchill, Brewongle, Ladies, Members
Tenants
New South Wales Cricket Association Sydney Swans (AFL)

The Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) is a sports stadium in Sydney. It is used for Test cricket, one-day international cricket, some rugby league and rugby union matches, and is the home ground for the New South Wales Blues cricket team and the Sydney Swans of the Australian Football League. It is owned/operated by the SCG Trust that also manages Aussie Stadium located next door.

[edit] History

In 1810, then-Governor Lachlan Macquarie designated an area on the outskirts of the growing colony of Sydney to be Hyde Park, a place which would include a racecourse, a park and a cricket ground. In 1851, a new piece of land south of Victoria Barracks was granted to the British Army for use as a garden and cricket ground for the soldiers. This area became known as Moore Park and was soon the primary location for cricket matches in Sydney.

As the amount of cricket activity began to grow, the New South Wales Cricket Association offered to the Government of New South Wales in 1875 to upgrade the cricket ground in Moore Park, and in 1876, the first SCG was dedicated by Governor Sir Hercules Robinson. The first game of cricket was not played there until 1877, in a game between the New South Wales Government Printing Office and the Audit Office.

A crowded SCG during a 1930's cricket match.

The first official cricket game was played in 1879, in a first-class inter-colonial match between NSW and Victoria, which led to the first instance of an Australian rules football match being played on the ground on 6 August 1881 (over 100 years before the arrival of the Sydney Swans from Melbourne!) The SCG hosted its first Test cricket match beginning on 17 February 1882, when Australia played England in the sixth ever Test match. Australia won the game by 5 wickets.

In 1886, the Members' Pavilion was rebuilt, and in 1894 the ground finally received its modern name, the Sydney Cricket Ground, which was followed by the opening of the Hill Stand (also known as the "Bob Stand") in 1895, followed by the Ladies' Stand in 1896. The ground continued to grow: by 1903 the Northern Stand was built, the Members' Pavilion extended, lighting was installed and a scoreboard installed.

A rugby league match was first played at the SCG in 22 June 1910, when the ground hosted a first-grade match between Australia and New Zealand. In 1923 the ground was the location of the Australian national football team playing New Zealand. Australia lost 2-3, the first ever loss on home soil. Further cricket, rugby league and soccer matches would be played at the ground, while more stands (the Sheridan and Noble, the latter replacing the Northern Stand) were erected. In 1938, the British Empire Games (now known as the Commonwealth Games) were played at the SCG.

Large light towers were added to the ground in the late 1970s to capitalise on "night cricket"

In 1951, the ground, along with the Sydney Sports Ground was brought under the auspices of an umbrella organization called the Sydney Cricket Ground Trust. Previously, the ground had been under its own board of trustees. The ground would continue to grow, as the Bradman Stand was completed in 1973. The new Trust also agreed to allow women to become members of the ground in 1974, a contemporary step. More improvements, including the installment of modern floodlights in 1978, the Brewongle Stand in 1980, and the installation of the first electronic video scoreboard 1983, the Pat Hill Stand (later renamed the O'Reilly Stand) in 1984, and the replacement of the Sheridan Stand with the new Clive Churchill Stand in 1986 have resulted in the SCG as it is seen today.

The opening of the Sydney Football Stadium (now known as Aussie Stadium) in 1988 removed rugby league and football matches from the ground, which kept the headquarters of NSW Cricket while gaining the new tenant the AFL Sydney Swans from Melbourne in 1982. So far, the Swans have had great success in their new adopted Sydney home, with their greatest match coming in 1996 where the Swans made their first AFL Grand Final in 50 years at home. Thanks to a new LED scoreboard and a refurbishment of the playing surface in 2000, the Swans and Cricket NSW enjoy a top-of-the-line home stadium.

[edit] Stands

The SCG with the Brewongle and Ladies' Stands in the background

In its present configuration, the SCG is a playing field surrounded by a collection of separate grandstand structures. From the northern end, clockwise, they are:

• M. A. Noble Stand - Built 1936 - Members seating, also used for general public admission during events with low attendance.
• Bradman Stand - Built 1973 - Public reserved seating.
• Dally Messenger Stand - General admission. To become the location of the new scoreboard after the 2006/07 season, with the closure of the hill.
• Bill O'Reilly Stand - Built 1984 - Corporate boxes and public reserved seating.
• Doug Walters Stand - General admission. (stand will be demolished and rebuilt during 2007)
• Yabba's Hill - General admission. To be closed after the 2006/07 cricket season, to be replaced with an as yet unnamed stand.
• Clive Churchill Stand - Built 1986 - Corporate boxes and public reserved seating.
• Brewongle Stand - Built 1980 - Corporate boxes and public reserved seating.
• Ladies' Stand - Built 1896 - Members seating.
• Members' Stand - Built 1878 - Members seating.

[edit] Ground activities

[edit] Cricket

(from Cricinfo)

The Member's stand. When viewing the stand from this angle (from the Brewongle Stand), the home team dressing room is to the left, while the visitors are on the right.

Cricket has been played at the ground from as long ago as 1848, then known as the Garrison Ground, but many other sports have established a presence, to such an extent no less that a bike track actually ringed the playing surface between the 1890s and 1920s. This relationship has also been tested by the generally strained connection between the SCG Trust and the New South Wales Cricket Association, the low point of which was reached in the late 1970s when Neville Wran's State government created legislation to reconfigure the composition of the Trust and bring Kerry Packer's World Series Cricket to the ground.

In its earlier incarnations, the pitches were favourable for batting, resulting in mammoth scores. The highest of these was compiled in 1929-30 season, when Sir Donald Bradman made his celebrated personal best of 452 for New South Wales in a match against Queensland. From the early 1970s though, the square's character has undergone a number of revisions. Principally, it has come to be seen as a spinner's paradise - never more clearly than in memorable Australian Test wins over West Indies in 1984-85 (when Bob Holland and Murray Bennett piloted the home team to a crushing success) and in 1988-89 (when the left arm orthodox spin of Allan Border claimed an unlikely 11 scalps). Of course, this is not to say that the limelight has been stolen purely by slow bowlers; West Indian Brian Lara's masterful 277 in 1992-93 and paceman Fanie De Villiers' match haul of 10 for 123 at the forefront of South Africa's amazing five run win in 1993-94 underlining the point.

[edit] Australian rules football

As mentioned before, the Sydney Swans of the Australian Football League play most of their home games at the ground. However, football was first played at the ground long before the Swans' arrival, for in 1881 an intercolonial game between NSW and Victoria was played on the ground. The South Melbourne Swans also paid a visit to the ground in 1905 for a number of exhibition games. The Australian Football Carnival, the main interstate event in Australian rules, was held in Sydney in 1914 and 1933, with many matches being played at the SCG.

The 1933 Australian Football Carnival at the SCG. Players from Victoria and Tasmania contest a mark. (Photographer: Sam Hood.)

South Melbourne moved to Sydney in 1982 and were re-christened the Sydney Swans. While the first years of the Swans in their new home at the SCG were not particularly fruitful years, the Swans have come to be accustomed to their new home, and the SCG has proven itself to be one of the most feared home grounds in all of the AFL. Since its dimensions are much cozier than other footy grounds like the Melbourne Cricket Ground and the Telstra Dome in Melbourne, AAMI Stadium in Adelaide or Subiaco Oval in Perth, the Swans have an advantage in this aspect, and have played this advantage to the fullest.

One of their greatest games at the SCG was their 1996 preliminary final against Essendon, when Swans great Tony Lockett's kicked a winning point after the final siren to send the Swans into the AFL Grand Final, their first appearance since 1945. Another famous game played at the S.C.G was the 2005 semi-final against Geelong, where Nick Davis kicked four final quarter goals, one of which put the Swans in front for the first time of the match with just 3 seconds left.

While some major games (i.e. the annual "Big Game" against Collingwood) are played at Telstra Stadium in Sydney Olympic Park, the SCG is still the Swans' premier home ground.

[edit] Rugby league

The SCG bears a rich history in the game of rugby league, for many years it was the venue for most of the important league games held in Sydney. The largest crowd ever to fill the SCG was for the 1965 NSWRL Grand Final between Souths and St.George which brought a crowd of 78,056 people.

Between 1913, when Easts defeated Newtown in the first NSWRL match played there, and the 1987 Grand Final, the SCG played host to over 1000 Premiership matches and finals (more than any other ground). The best game of the round, the "Match of the Day", was transferred to the SCG for many seasons.

The unavailibilty of the ground, due to the uncertain length of the finals series, led to the NSWRL changing its final system in 1954 - from 1954 to 1987, all NSWRL Grand Finals were fought out at the SCG. In addition, it was the venue for many representative games - Test matches, interstate, and City v Country.

With the opening of the Sydney Football Stadium (currently known as Aussie Stadium) in 1988, the long history of major rugby league games at the SCG came to an end. The last Grand Final there saw Manly defeat Canberra in the 1987 decider. Finals and other important games are now shared between the SFS and Stadium Australia (currently known as Telstra Stadium)

However, in 1999 and since 2003, one National Rugby League game has been played at the ground each year.

[edit] Others

The SCG from time to time also hosts large concerts. In January 2005, the SCG hosted WaveAid - a concert to raise money for the victims of the Boxing Day Tsunami.

[edit] Seating capacity and other records

• Seating Capacity: 43,562
• Largest cricket match attendance: 58,446 (Australia v England, 15 December 1928)
• Largest Australian rules football match attendance: 46,168 (Sydney v Geelong, 30 August 1997)
• Largest rugby league match attendance: 78,056 (St George v South Sydney, 18 September 1965)
• Largest rugby union match attendance: 49,327 (NSW v New Zealand, 13 July 1907)
• Largest soccer match attendance: 51,566 (NSW v Everton, 2 May 1964)
• Largest concert attendance: 45,191 (WaveAid benefit concert, 29 January 2005)

[edit] See also

Cricket Portal

• History of Test cricket (to 1883)
• History of Test cricket (1884 to 1889)
• History of Test cricket (1890 to 1900)
• Melbourne Cricket Ground

[edit] External links

• SCG Trust Homepage
• Google Maps satellite image of SCG

Coordinates: 33°53′30.10″S, 151°13′29.39″E