WACA: Youngest of Australia’s Big 5, but it will be missed

With Perth’s WACA set to be scrapped as an important international venue, Arunabha Sengupta tries to figure out what makes the ground special. READ: WACA not to host important international matches: Reactions

The Western Australia Cricket Association ground has a special appeal.

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The very name WACA, with its semi-onomatopoeic implications, suggests a lightning fast surface. Indeed, before it became comparatively slower in the early 2000s, the pitch was as quick as any in the world. The track makes for exciting cricket.

Even in this century, with experts agreeing about the increasing sluggishness of the pitch, there have been just two draws in the 14 Tests hosted at this venue. With Sydney and Melbourne, this is one Australian ground where a result is more or less guaranteed. READ: WACA saga: Nathan Coulter-Nile not happy with Perth takeover

Add to that the manned scoreboard, the two charming grass banks, the backdrop of the Swan River, the sweltering heat cooled in the afternoon by the Fremantle Doctor, and you have got atmosphere that amounts to so much of cricket viewing pleasure. Even the uncomfortable concrete stands that turn into furnace in the blazing heat and the absence of adequate shades have become more a feature than a cause for annoyance.

For the fans in the subcontinent, the aura of extreme pace and the magnetic lure of the surroundings are supplemented by the difference in time zones. It is only when the action shifts to this somewhat old-world ground in the outskirts of Perth that one can enjoy the cricket at more normal hours, instead of getting up sleepy-eyed at the crack of dawn as necessitated by the eastern cricket hubs of Adelaide, Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne. READ: WACA, Perth: Greatest performances, Part 1 of 2

Yet, it is this time difference — and therefore geographical distance — that had for long prevented the ground, and more generically Western Australia, from becoming a major Test centre. The venue has existed since the 1890s, but the huge distance separating it from the cricketing epicentre in the east, stretching across the entire country of Australia, did not allow it to develop into an international cricketing arena until relatively recently.

In fact, unlike the other grounds of the Australian Big Five, Perth is a child in terms of Test cricket, and will probably be missed the least.

MCG hosted its first Test along with cricket itself, in 1877. SCG did so five years later. Adelaide Oval was granted its inaugural Test in 1884. Brisbane was late in joining the league, but yet managed to enter the fray with the Exhibition Ground in 1928 before moving to The Gabba in 1931. In contrast WACA was brought into the scheme of things only in late 1970. READ: WACA to shift Test cricket to new Perth Stadium

Even the development of the railways that revolutionised the County Championship in England and made cricketing journeys faster and more frequent in Australia, necessitated days of uncomfortable travel if a team had to venture across the wide land to the Western parts. Hence, after the hesitant and infrequent beginnings of First-Class cricket in 1899, the venue had to wait till 1907 before the first MCC side, led by AO Jones, played there. Fred Fane got a hundred; and the bowling of Syd Barnes, Colin Blythe, Wilfred Rhodes and Jack Crawford proved a bit too much for the Western Australians.

With their ship docking in the Fremantle port, the visiting MCC sides generally played their first match at WACA before moving towards the east and not looking back. Sometimes, on the way back to their homebound boat, they did play another game in Perth, sometimes they did not. They loved the Swan River: Alan Ross devoted a whole chapter of his magnificent tour book Australia 55 on the Western Australian capital and its river, naming it Perth: Reflections on the Swan River. They enjoyed golfing at Karrinyup Country Club, ambling along the blue tree-ringed lake in the gold, declining sun. But as far as cricket was concerned, it was restricted to the one-off game at the very beginning of the tour, and perhaps one more squeezed into the calendar. READ: Dennis Lillee resigns as WACA president after a decade

The first time the Indians visited Down Under, they played Western Australia at the ground as they landed in October 1947: the match was rained off. They played against the same side again when they were set to depart in February 1948, where in spite of nine wickets taken by Vinoo Mankad they lost a thriller by 6 runs.

With air travel gradually becoming the standard way of travel for the cricketers, the claims of Perth as a more serious international venue became stronger. Matches became more frequent, and great cricketers were produced or imported. Graham McKenzie, Dennis Lille and Rod Marsh were home-grown; Bobby Simpson played for the state; Rohan Kanhai tarried there for a season; and Tony Lock for a considerable number of years. READ: The secret behind the WACA pitch at Perth

The first Test was granted in December 1970, where Greg Chappell made his debut by slamming a hundred against Ray Illingworth’s Englishmen.

Since then there have been 41 Tests hosted by the ground, Australia winning 24 and losing 10. Compared to 107 played at MCG, 103 at SCG, 73 at the Adelaide Oval and 57 at the Gabba, WACA is indeed a mere child when it comes to history of Test cricket. And if one reflects rationally, the facilities for the spectators really do not qualify as the best in the world.

Yet it will be missed.

Many memories

The members will miss the visiting players walking out to bat or field through their midst in the pavilion, a quaint characteristic which harks back towards Lord’s. And there will be plenty of eventful memories. READ: WACA pitch is no longer a batsman’s nightmare

In its relatively brief stint as a Test ground, WACA has had its share of magic moments.

It was here in 1974 that the 42-year-old Colin Cowdrey, recalled from his snug post-retirement armchair by the fireplace, walked in to handle the fearsome pace of Lillee and Jeff Thomson. In the same match Doug Walters hit Bob Willis for a six off the last ball of the day as he raced to a century in the final session. And in the second innings a vicious Thomson delivery thudded into the abdomen of David Lloyd, forcing him to retire in considerable pain.

It was here that Roy Fredericks tore into the Australian pace, blasting a furious 145-ball 169, reaching his hundred in just 71 deliveries. A couple of years later, the fate of cricket in balance with major cricketers engaged in the Kerry Packer circuit, old Simpson plodded his way to a remarkable 176 as he led the third-string Australian side against the visiting Indians. And then, with a steep target of 339 to chase down, night-watchman Tony Mann scored that unforgettable century to carry Australia past the line with two wickets to spare. READ: Analytical perspective of WACA ground

It was here that Alan Hurst removed the bails as Sikander Bakht backed up too far, sending him back ‘Mankaded’. Australians were paid back in kind on the same day as Sarfraz Nawaz appealed successfully for a handled the ball dismissal against Andrew Hilditch as a return from the outfield was stopped by his glove.

It was here that Lillee walked in with an aluminium bat in 1979, and got out caught Willey bowled Dilley (at gully), also in the same Test, and got involved in that infamous fight with Javed Miandad in 1981.

It was here that Terry Alderman tried to rugby-tackle a spectator and jeopardised his career by putting out his shoulder.

It was here that Curtly Ambrose broke Geoff Lawson’s jaw in 1988-89 and then captured 7 for 1 during a spectacular spell in 1993.

It was here that the 18-year-old Sachin Tendulkar produced a dazzling demonstration of strokeplay to score 114 in 1992.

It was here that Merv Hughes claimed a hat-trick in 1988-89 and Glenn McGrath in 2000.

It was here in 2003 that Matthew Hayden scored 380 against Zimbabwe to break the world record score of Brian Lara. And another destructive left-hander, Adam Gilchrist, blasted his way to a hundred off 57 balls against England in 2006.

It was here that South Africa successfully chased down 414 in 2008, losing just four wickets, and Shahid Afridi chomped down on the ball in 2010. READ: WACA — venue of some unusual cricketing records

Moving away from the Test scene, one has plenty of other memories. Barry Richards blasting 375 in a day for South Australia against Lillee and McKenzie in 1970; Queensland being bowled out for 62 in the Gillette Cup semi-final to give Western Australia a 15-run win in the ‘Miracle Match’ of 1976-77; the Waugh twins putting on 464 unbeaten runs for New South Wales in 1990; Mohammad Azharuddin flinging himself to his right to catch Andy Cummins off Tendulkar’s medium-pace to clinch a 126-each tie in the Benson and Hedges encounter of 1991.

Yes, although the ground is nowhere near Lord’s or Trent Bridge, MCG or SCG, in terms of is duration in the annals of international cricket, it does have a splendid saga of speed, drama and memorable feats. READ: It’s customary for groundsmen to drink on eve of the match: WACA chief

The discontinuation of a venue is not uncommon in cricketing centres. From Brabourne Stadium to Bramall Lane, there are plenty of examples. However, as in the case of every other such ground, WACA did have its charm, its character, its celebratory moments, and will be missed.

(Arunabha Sengupta is a cricket historian and Chief Cricket Writer at CricketCountry. He writes about the history of cricket, with occasional statistical pieces and reflections on the modern game. He is also the author of four novels, the most recent being Sherlock Holmes and the Birth of The Ashes. He tweets here.)