Published: Aug 17, 2015, 02:26 PM (IST)
Edited: Aug 17, 2015, 02:26 PM (IST)
It is not unusual to spot a Bollywood star during a cricket match these days. Bollywood and cricket’s affair dates way back in history. However, when actress Sonam Kapoor landed in Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), one would have wondered what was she doing at MCG when India was not playing? It turns out that Sonam was at MCG to hand over a ball to the umpire during Australian Football League match between Richmond Tigers and Gold Coast Suns. The Richmond Tigers wrote on Twitter, “Was a pleasure hosting Bollywood royalty @sonamakapoor at our home ground, the @MCG, this afternoon #GoTigers (sic)”
The MCG or Big ‘G’ not only hosts cricket matches but the Australian Football League too. In 2014, after the grand finale of Australian Football League, the MCG used its month-long break to undertake its biggest turf overhaul in a decade. The program was budgeted at $1.7 million and was the most extensive undertaken by the Melbourne Cricket Club (MCC). The last time such an extensive overhaul was undertaken was in 2004, in preparation for the 2006 Commonwealth Games.
Cricket Australia (CA) had decided not to host any domestic or international matches at the venue until October 31, 2014. The ground hosted the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 final between Australia and New Zealand, which the hosts won comfortably. The relaid MCC turf hosted the first domestic match — a Sheffield Shield encounter between Victoria and New South Wales. The first international match that was played at MCG was on November 7 which was the Twenty20 encounter between Australia and South Africa.
