Though the series did not start at The Gabba, the action will be back. Abhishek Mukherjee digs out numbers from the ground where Australia has been nigh-invincible.
Is it The Gabba that spurs the Australians to step on to the field in armour with swords and maces in their hands? Or is it the season-starter that does it, making The Gabba special? What is it about the excruciating heat, extreme conditions, and rock-hard soil of Brisbane that helps build up the adrenaline in Australians and push oppositions into submission?
As for this millennium, Australia has remained unbeaten at The Gabba, winning nine and drawing four of the 13 Tests. No other country has managed to maintain an unbeaten streak this long at a ground this millennium. South Africa, with four wins in four Tests at New Wanderers, comes a distant second.
Grounds at which a country has remained unbeaten in the 21st century (qualification: two Tests)
Team
Ground
City
M
W
D
Australia
The Gabba
Brisbane
13
9
4
South Africa
New Wanderers
Johannesburg
4
4
West Indies
Kensington Oval
Bridgetown
3
3
Australia
Sharjah Cricket Stadium
Sharjah
2
2
Australia
TIO Stadium
Darwin
2
2
Sri Lanka
Galle International Stadium
Galle
2
2
Australia
Cazaly’s Stadium
Cairns
2
1
1
New Zealand
Basin Reserve
Wellington
2
1
1
Sri Lanka
SSC
Colombo
2
1
1
West Indies
Queen’s Park Oval
Port-of-Spain
2
1
1
England
Old Trafford
Manchester
2
2
Red indicates away from home
The Gabba being an Australian fortress is not a new concept. The fourth ground to host a Test in Australia (nearly half a decade after the third, Adelaide Oval), The Gabba has witnessed only eight Australian defeats in 56 Tests; the hosts have won a whopping 34 times, which gave them a win-loss ratio of 4.25. Only Pakistan at Karachi (21 wins, two defeats has a better win-loss ratio).
Best win-loss ratios for countries at grounds (qualification: 20 Tests at that ground)
Team
Ground
City
M
W
L
T
D
W/L
Pakistan
National Stadium
Karachi
41
21
2
0
18
10.500
Australia
The Gabba
Brisbane
56
34
8
1
13
4.250
England
Edgbaston
Birmingham
47
24
8
0
15
3.000
Sri Lanka
SSC
Colombo
38
18
6
0
14
3.000
Sri Lanka
Galle International Stadium
Galle
24
13
5
0
6
2.600
Australia
WACA
Perth
41
24
10
0
7
2.400
West Indies
Antigua Recreation Ground
St John’s
22
7
3
0
12
2.333
Australia
Lord’s
London
37
16
7
0
14
2.285
Australia
Adelaide Oval
Adelaide
73
37
17
0
19
2.176
India
Chepauk
Chennai
31
13
6
1
11
2.166
West Indies
Sabina Park
Kingston
47
23
11
0
13
2.090
Australia
SCG
Sydney
102
57
28
0
17
2.035
Australia
MCG
Melbourne
106
61
30
0
15
2.033
England
The Oval
London
97
40
20
0
37
2.000
India
Feroz Shah Kotla
Delhi
32
12
6
0
14
2.000
India
Green Park
Kanpur
21
6
3
0
12
2.000
Pakistan
Gaddafi Stadium
Lahore
40
12
6
0
22
2.000
West Indies
Kensington Oval
Bridgetown
50
22
11
0
17
2.000
England
Old Trafford
Manchester
75
26
14
0
35
1.857
England
Lord’s
London
127
50
29
0
48
1.724
India
Wankhede Stadium
Mumbai
24
10
7
0
7
1.428
Australia
Trent Bridge
Nottingham
22
7
5
0
10
1.400
South Africa
New Wanderers Stadium
Johannesburg
35
14
10
0
11
1.400
England
Headingley
Leeds
72
31
23
0
18
1.347
New Zealand
Seddon Park
Hamilton
20
8
6
0
6
1.333
England
Trent Bridge
Nottingham
59
21
16
0
22
1.312
India
Eden Gardens
Kolkata
39
11
9
0
19
1.222
Pakistan
Iqbal Stadium
Faisalabad
24
6
5
0
13
1.200
West Indies
Bourda
Georgetown
30
7
6
0
17
1.166
Australia
Old Trafford
Manchester
30
8
7
0
15
1.142
Australia
Headingley
Leeds
25
9
8
0
8
1.125
South Africa
Kingsmead
Durban
40
14
13
0
13
1.076
West Indies
Queen’s Park Oval
Port-of-Spain
59
19
18
0
22
1.055
South Africa
Newlands
Cape Town
51
21
20
0
10
1.050
India
M.Chinnaswamy Stadium
Bangalore
20
6
6
0
8
1.000
South Africa
St George’s Park
Port Elizabeth
25
10
11
0
4
0.909
South Africa
Old Wanderers
Johannesburg
22
7
8
0
7
0.875
England
SCG
Sydney
55
22
26
0
7
0.846
New Zealand
Basin Reserve
Wellington
56
15
18
0
23
0.833
Sri Lanka
Asgiriya Stadium
Kandy
21
7
9
0
5
0.777
England
MCG
Melbourne
55
20
28
0
7
0.714
New Zealand
Eden Park
Auckland
49
10
15
0
24
0.666
England
Adelaide Oval
Adelaide
31
9
17
0
5
0.529
New Zealand
AMI Stadium
Christchurch
40
8
16
0
16
0.500
Zimbabwe
Harare Sports Club
Harare
32
8
16
0
8
0.500
West Indies
Lord’s
London
20
4
9
0
7
0.444
Australia
The Oval
London
36
6
16
0
14
0.375
England
The Gabba
Brisbane
20
4
11
0
5
0.363
Red indicates away from home
Intimidating, is it not? The Gabba is, without a doubt, the ground where Australia has dominated the opposition the most over years. Their decimation of the opposition at WACA has also been impressive (24 wins, 10 defeats), but it is nowhere close to their performance at The Gabba.
Let us now check the Australian grounds where opposition sides have put up decent fights. There are not many, and West Indies is the only side to have won (five) more matches than lost (two) — at WACA. They have also won five and lost five at Adelaide Oval.
Best win-loss ratio at Australian grounds by oppositions (minimum: 5 Tests)
Team
Ground
City
M
W
L
T
D
W/L
West Indies
WACA
Perth
7
5
2
2.500
West Indies
Adelaide Oval
Adelaide
14
5
5
4
1.000
England
SCG
Sydney
55
22
26
7
0.846
England
MCG
Melbourne
55
20
28
7
0.714
South Africa
Adelaide Oval
Adelaide
8
2
3
3
0.667
England
Adelaide Oval
Adelaide
31
9
17
5
0.529
New Zealand
WACA
Perth
6
1
2
3
0.500
Pakistan
SCG
Sydney
7
2
4
1
0.500
West Indies
The Gabba
Brisbane
12
3
6
1
2
0.500
The best performance at The Gabba is also by the men from the Caribbean Islands: they have won three and lost six. Just for the sake of records, England has won four and lost 11; New Zealand has won one and lost seven; the other countries are yet to win a Test at The Gabba.
But what about recency? When did Australia lost their last Test at The Gabba? We need to go back to 1988-89 (a whopping 26 years back to find the instance when Curtly Ambrose and Courtney Walsh had thwarted the hosts by a nine-wicket margin. The hosts have remained undefeated at Brisbane till then.
Last Australian defeats at every ground
Opposition
Ground
City
First day of Test
South Africa
WACA
Perth
November 30, 2012
New Zealand
Bellerive Oval
Hobart
November 9, 2011
England
SCG
Sydney
January 3, 2011
England
MCG
Melbourne
December 26, 2010
England
Adelaide Oval
Adelaide
December 3, 2010
West Indies
The Gabba
Brisbane
November 18, 1988
England
Exhibition Ground
Brisbane
November 30, 1928
Australia have never lost at Cairns or Darwin
Australia would certainly miss Michael Clarke at The Gabba. He has, after all, scored five hundreds from ten Tests at the ground. Of the ones likely to play tomorrow, Brad Haddin has the best numbers, while David Warner has not done too badly either.
Most runs at The Gabba among members of the likely Australian XI
Player
M
R
Ave
100s
Michael Clarke
10
1,030
103.00
5
Brad Haddin
5
426
60.85
1
David Warner
3
192
48.00
1
Mitchell Johnson
5
146
29.20
Shane Watson
5
127
18.14
Steven Smith
1
31
15.50
Chris Rogers
1
17
8.50
Both Mitchell Johnson and Nathan Lyon have been outstanding at The Gabba. While Johnson’s 26 wickets from five Tests have come at a mere 21.07 apiece, Lyon has taken his 15 from three Tests at 21.86. Neither Peter Siddle nor Ryan Harris will play tomorrow, though they have done a decent job at the ground. Mitchell Starc’s only Test has resulted in two wickets for him.
Most wickets at The Gabba among members of the likely Australian XI
Player
M
W
Ave
SR
5WIs
Mitchell Johnson
5
26
21.07
39.4
2
Peter Siddle
5
16
33.31
68.5
1
Nathan Lyon
3
15
21.86
45.0
Shane Watson
5
7
35.71
59.1
Ryan Harris
1
5
15.40
40.8
Mitchell Starc
1
2
61.50
78.0
Note: Michael Clarke, Steven Smith, and David Warner have bowled at The Gabba, albeit without wickets.
(Abhishek Mukherjee is the Chief Editor and Cricket Historian at CricketCountry. He blogs here and can be followed on Twitter here)
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