Ashes Day-Night Test: A cricket lover’s guide to Adelaide

WITH the new day-night Test format, visitors have their mornings free to discover Adelaide. Here, a cricket tragic reveals some of its secrets as you amble from the heart of the CBD to the historic Oval.

• For all the Ashes coverage: Advertiser cricket
• FAQ: Your Ashes questions answered
• Where to eat: Check out The Advertiser Food Guide
• Bangers and Ashes: Best pubs for the cricket
• The remarkable history of Adelaide Oval

WITH the new day-night Test format visitors have their mornings free to discover Adelaide, the world’s fifth most liveable city. Follow a local cricket lover’s trail through the loveable heart of the CBD to the historic Adelaide Oval, which has been hosting Ashes tests since 1884.

Where to begin

Catch the free city tram to the City South stop. Step into the Kings Head pub, directly opposite the tram stop on King William St. Begin your pilgrimage with a pint of any beer by the Bierhaus microbrewery at Lobethal (a pearl of a town in the Adelaide Hills). Why a Lobethal Bierhaus brew? Lobethal is where both great beers and great cricket bats have long been handcrafted since 1850.

Raise your glass to the early German immigrants who planted the first willow trees – now considered an environmentally unfriendly weed – along the creeks in the Adelaide Hills in the 1800s.

Propose a toast to the Kumnick and Fielke families who crafted the first cricket bats in their Lobethal workshop in the 1890s. England fans, drink to the fact that David Warner’s bat-makers have been asked to shave down the size of his bats in time for the Ashes, due to the ICC’s new size regulations.

The Kings Head pub on King William St, Adelaide. Picture: Supplied

Adelaide Central Market

From the Kings Head, walk North on King William Street until you arrive at Tarntanyangga/Victoria Square. Established in 1869 by a collective of market gardeners the Adelaide Central Market is an iconic and glorious hub of food and culture. Fill your boots with some locally sourced fruit, cheese, dips and Turkish bread for the days play ahead. But don’t get too distracted by the delicacies, you’ve got more to see.

Tarntanyangga / Victoria Square

Exiting the market, wander over to Tarntanyangga/Victoria Square. Visit the Reconciliation Plaza in the centre of the Square to pay homage to the South

Australian Aboriginal cricketing heroes, like Faith Thomas. When Faith steamed in to bowl at the Melbourne Ashes test in 1958, she became the first Aboriginal woman to represent Australia in any national sporting team. Sadly, it’s taken until this year for another indigenous cricketer, the talented Ashleigh Gardner, to debut for Australia’s women team.

Spend a moment reading the granite engravings of Kaurna words and their interpretative illustrations. These engravings are a feature of the new public artwork on the Plaza, co-created by artist Jacob Logos, members of the Kaurna community, and Aboriginal students from Challa Gardens Primary School and Gilles Street Primary School. The Plaza marks a traditional meeting place for the Kaurna people who are the custodians of this site. Look for the illustrated engraving with the word “Tardana” (duck) — Ashleigh’s score in her debut dig for Australia. Thankfully her big hitting in a recent Women’s Ashes ODI suggests she could be more than just a bowler.

Tarntanyangga/Victoria Square in the heart Adelaide.

Adelaide Town Hall

Moving northward from Tarntanyangga, cross to the East side of King William St. Only a few metres along you will come to the Adelaide Town Hall. The Beatles were coaxed to include Adelaide in their 1964 Australian tour and visited the Town Hall on June 12. Over half of Adelaide’s population moshed and squealed, hoping to glimpse Paul, George, John and … Jimmy. Yes, Jimmy. The forgotten drummer was filling in for Ringo while he was home sick with tonsillitis.

Lucky for Ringo he was able to re-join his team on the tour a little later. England fans, and let’s be honest, most Australian fans, will be hoping a similar fate awaits Ben Stokes who, at the time of writing, seems certain to miss the Adelaide testand doubtful to join his band in time for the remaining Tests.

Be sure to get a happy snap with the realistic photo of the Fab Four on the Town Hall balcony where the band waved to the crowd, open to the public Monday to Friday. Five years after their visit to Adelaide, The Beatles gathered for what would be their last photo shoot — on an overgrown cricket field. England fans will be trusting that Adelaide’s ground staff have allowed the grass on the pitch to overgrow in a similar fashion, to preserve the lucrative pink ball and cultivate a seamers’ delight for Anderson and co.

Photo of the Beatles on the Town Hall balcony.

2KW rooftop bar

Stroll from the Hall towards the Oval, sticking to the East side of King William St, until you come to Jamie’s Italian Adelaide. Enter the door next to Jamie’s Italian and follow the signs to 2KW, up two lifts. Order your cocktail (suggested cocktail below) as you pass the bar, making your way out to the rooftop bar, which “The Richies” would describe as “absolutely marvellous”.

Statue of Sir Don Bradman at Adelaide Oval.

There is no better perch to overlook Adelaide’s home of the Don. Not Don Bradman’s Adelaide Oval(though it features in the view). Look under your nose and you will also see Parliament House — home to Adelaide’s other iconic Don —Donald “Don” Dunstan. Lesser known to international guests than Bradman, Dunstan was the flamboyant Premier of South Australia 1967-1968, and again between 1970-1979.

Don was more of an art lover than cricket lover, but long before it was popular to support gay rights in Australia, Don was at the forefront of the gay rights movement, leading reform that made South Australia the proud first State in Australia to describes Don as: one of Australia’s most charismatic, courageous, and visionary politicians; a dedicated reformer with a deep commitment to social justice, a true friend to the Aboriginal people and those newly arrived in Australia, and with a lifelong passion for the arts and education. He took positive steps to enhance the status of women.

Former Premier Don Dunstan wearing his infamous pink shorts in 1972. Picture: File photo

But beyond the legacy of Don’s many social reforms, he is also affectionately remembered for his fashion legacy, for being, as Kerryn Goldsworthy writes, “both fastidious and fearless about what he wore”.

As you cast your eyes over the steps of Parliament House below, sip your cocktail (the Donny’s Pink Pants cocktail is the apt choice — according to the 2KW cocktail menu it’s just like our former Premier, “a colourful and joyous drink … and just a little racy”). Savouring your drink, visualise the hot November day in 1972 when Don rocked up to work wearing his tailor-made pair of tight and loud pink shorts. The News reported: “dazzling Don Dunstan has done it again”, and that, “South Australia’s swinging Premier stood out like a beacon in the grey conservative decor of Parliament House”.

It’s safe to say that Don Dunstan would be proud that Adelaide hosts the pink-ball test. (Don’s shorts are now on display at The Centre of Democracy, open daily with free admission).

The Rotunda

Not far to go now. Cross from 2KW to the west side of King William St, walking to the Elder Park Rotunda, just past the Adelaide Festival Centre. Crafted in Glasgow and erected in 1882, the Rotunda served as a bandstand before World War II, drawing crowds of over 5000 music lovers every Thursday night.

When the Rotunda was renovated in 2015, one brave architect was winched down into the secret room underneath the Rotunda, presumably to look for lost treasures.

There have been unconfirmed reports that this architect discovered the alchemist Les Burdett’s secret laboratory, and unearthed evidence that suggests this is where Les turned the humble metal of a groundskeeper into Australia’s most successful Test offspinner of all time.

Adelaide's Elder Park Rotunda, just past the Adelaide Festival Centre.

City Bridge

Saving the $40 million footbridge for later, take the final steps of your pilgrimage over the good old City Bridge. As you cross the Torrens, reaching the Oval, appreciate the mammoth and mythical six that great English hitter Gilbert Jessop hit out of the ground into the River Torrens. It’s difficult to verify this slice of Adelaide folklore, yet an examination of Jessop’s Test innings confirms that his second innings knock of 16, in the 1902 Ashes Test at Adelaide Oval, did include 1 six.

Regardless of how far this hit sailed over the boundary, it was Hugh Trumble’s offspin that dominated in that match, leading his team to victory with his 9-wicket match. With the hype focused on the seamers in the build up to the 2017 Adelaide Test, perhaps the man who surpassed Trumble as Australia’s most prolific off-spinner back in 2015 will quietly sneak under the radar to steal the show.

A Dizzy destination

Upon reaching the sacred site do a full lap around the outside of the Oval. Look for the fine bronze sculptures, Don Bradman’s cover drive immortalised by SA eminent portraitist Robert Hanniford, and Victor Richardson’s all-round brilliance enshrined by inspiring SA sculptor John Dowie.

Walk behind the much-loved Moreton Bay fig trees — planted in the 1890s to block the view of non-paying spectators who were gathering on the northern slopes to enjoy the cricket for free.

Jason Gillespie and his statue at Adelaide Oval.

As you walk around the ground, in anticipation of the game, it’s also important to think about the original custodians who were also “shut out” from this site, their site, long before it was “revamped”. Adelaide Oval, or Tarntanya Wama in Kaurna language, continues to be a significant site for Kaurna people, and before European settlers appropriated the land, it was an initiation site, camping area and hunting ground.

Since the 19th century, many Indigenous people have played cricket for local teams and for all-Indigenous teams at the Adelaide Oval. Let’s hope that it won’t be too long before we see another Indigenous man represent Australia at an Adelaide Oval Test. Preferably, another all-rounder in the mould of Jason ‘Dizzy’ Gillespie. Dizzy is a former South Australian quick and a proud Kamilaroi man, the first acknowledged Aboriginal man to play Test cricket for Australia. How good it would be to see another Indigenous cricketer in full flight, akin to the sculpture of Dizzy behind the members’ stands.

Dr Joshua Spier is a researcher and cricket lover who lives and works in Tandanya (Adelaide). He has been a teacher for Tjilbruke Teaching and Learning at Flinders University.