Adelaide Oval in spotlight for next Test of Australian cricket team
ADELAIDE Oval will be in the national spotlight again this week and questions will be asked about the Australian Cricket Team’s ability to avoid a 3-0 Test series whitewash at the hands of South Africa.
ADELAIDE Oval will be in the national spotlight again this week and questions will be asked about the Australian Cricket Team’s ability to avoid a 3-0 Test series whitewash at the hands of South Africa.
But captain Steve Smith will not be the only one anxious about the upcoming day-night Test, which starts on Thursday at 2pm. Adelaide Oval’s head ground curator and the stadium’s head chef will be as nervous as the Aussies’ first drop – hoping the weather will be kind and that cricket fans will turn up droves.
Damian Hough says getting the Adelaide deck up to scratch has been months in the making and he and his 11 staff have worked overtime to make sure conditions are perfect for a ripping Test match.
And just like fans having to deal with the unpredictable batting results Australia has dished-up in the first two matches this season, Hough has had to react to the state’s wild weather lashing the hallowed turf of the Oval.
“I check my phone five times a day, even though they only update the weather twice,” Hough reveals.
“Whenever I wake up and see it raining at my house in the Hills, I run to my phone to see what the city is like.
“We have a direct line to the weather bureau, so any chance of uncertainty we’ll call them.”
Despite the less than ideal lead in, Hough is confident the pitch is good to go.
South Australian Cricket Association chief executive Keith Bradshaw said he expected a strong crowd over the Test, which runs from November 23-27. “Fans voted with their feet at last year’s day-night Test here at Adelaide Oval and we expect the same again,” Mr Bradshaw said.
He added: “Ticket sales have been strong.”
While Hough and his team have been tending to the turf, Adelaide Oval executive chef Hamish Robertson has had to make sure there will be enough food in the sheds to feed cricket fans in the stands and those corporate members who’ll be in the stadium’s restaurants.
“During the Test, I’m on site from about 7am to 11pm,” Mr Robertson said.
“Each day we’d do up to 15,000 buckets of chips (and) about 10,000 hamburgers across the five days.”
And, like Australia’s batsmen having to face a confident South African bowling attack, the pressure is always on in the kitchen.
“Changing to a day-night test doubled our workload (last year), giving us dinner to do as well as lunch,” he said.
Meanwhile, outside the ground, pubs are preparing for an influx of business.
Cathedral Hotel general manager Kym Bond said the venue would go with the same game plan it took in to last year’s Test match.
Mr Bond said the pub was ready for about 100 of The Richies – fans who dress up like late cricket legend Richie Benaud and attend every Australian Test match – who would hit the Kermode St pub on Friday night. “It’s going to be crazy,” Mr Bond said.
Police said they were hoping again for a well-behaved crowd. “(We) were generally pleased with the crowd behaviour at last year’s day-night Test,” a spokesman said.
HUNGER GAMES THE WEEK’S MAIN EVENT
WHEN you are in charge of feeding 40,000 people over five days, cricket is one of the last things on your mind.
By the time Adelaide Oval executive chef Hamish Robertson has his kitchens running smoothly, he might be lucky enough to see the last ball of the last day – if that.
That is the high-stakes pressure Mr Robertson works under as he manages 65 staff across the kitchens and kiosks of Adelaide Oval.
Working 16-hour days is just part of the role as he runs around the kitchens, “putting out spot fires”. “It gets better as the Test goes on,” he said.
“But the cricket is never on in the kitchen, there’s too much work to be done.
“We’re always busy here with footy, functions and cricket.”
Perhaps most importantly, the chefs have to manage the food for the players during the breaks.
“The players get looked after really well,” Mr Robertson says.
“We give them a fresh buffet and supply them with a healthy side.
“And we have to have plum chicken on the menu.”
Plum chicken, a favourite of former captain Steve Waugh, was retired in 2003 – but became a permanent fixture after Australian players requested it again.
Now in his sixth year at Adelaide Oval, Mr Robertson believes one of the biggest highlights has been the return of football to the stadium.
“It just meant more food and more kitchens,” he said.
“We went from having only one modern stand to one of the best venues in the country.”
TURF READY TO ROLL
FOR 20 years, Damian Hough has helped manage and prepare the cricket pitch at Adelaide Oval.
It is a dream job for nearly any cricket fan, but, funnily enough, Mr Hough can barely stand to watch a match at Adelaide Oval.
“I’m shocking at the best of times,” Mr Hough says. “I love cricket and can happily sit down and watch it at any other venue in Australia.
“But I’m shocking when it’s here. Is there too many wickets? Not enough wickets?
“ Too many runs? Not enough runs?
“I over-analyse everything.
“You do lay in bed thinking about grass too much.”
Despite the pressure, Mr Hough believes as long as he can provide a fair playing service, he and his staff can go home happy.
After becoming head curator in 2010, Mr Hough had a future Australian spinner working for him.
“Nathan (Lyon) is cheeky, that’s Nathan,” he said. “I’m wrapped with what he’s done, it all happened so quickly. With-in months he was playing Australia A and then he was in the first team.
“He hasn’t changed, he’s still very down to earth.”
In the lead-up, preparation has been all about the weather, Mr Hough said.
“You also need to think about everywhere else, like the mounds on the hill, the garden beds, the practice pitch.” Play starts on Thursday at 2pm.
Originally published as Adelaide Oval in spotlight for next Test of Australian cricket team