Adelaide Oval is king of cricket grounds in South Australia but here are 11 other fine sporting venues
THE world’s attention may be centred on Adelaide Oval — the undisputed king for cricket in SA — but there is much more to our state. Here are 11 other fine rural and suburban sporting gems for you to visit.
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ADELAIDE Oval is the undisputed king for cricket in South Australia, the jewel in our crown and respected the world over as a picturesque sporting cauldron.
But there is far more to South Australian cricket than just the Oval.
Ahead of the Ashes Test at Adelaide Oval, our readers have shared some of their favourite spots to don the whites or while away the hours watching the great game.
Our state’s lesser-known cricketing gems are hidden among paddocks, forests and vines and have beautiful ocean, river or rolling hills backdrops, not to mention full of charming quirks and tales of legendary feats.
Have one to add to the list? Send a photo or video of your favourite ground, along with a description, on Twitter or Instagram with the hashtag #SAgreatgrounds, or email to advertiserpics@news.com.au
CHATEAU TANUNDA
THE Chateau Tanunda Cricket Ground’s history is a short but sweet one.
The ground was the brainchild of proprietor and cricket tragic John Geber, who in 2000 turned what was more than 6000 tonnes of crumbled cement from wine fermenting vats from the back of the Chateau into a picturesque decks that has attracted some of the biggest names in world cricket.
In 2004, the ground played host to the Annual Cricket Masters match. The event became a tourist hit and until its demise in 2009, lured names such as Mike Gatting, David Gower, Sir Ian Botham, Ray Bright, Bruce Reid, Greg Matthews, Ijaz Ahmed, Arjuna Ranutanga, Kenny Benjamin and Junior Murray. You can check out the highlights in the Chateau’s Cricketer’s Bar.
There are rumours that plans are afoot to bring the Masters game back soon. In the meantime, it is home to various charity and junior games.
FINNISS OVAL
LIKE a phoenix, the Finniss Cricket Club has risen from the ashes.
The proud club was revived in 2007, with the brilliant nickname of the Frillnecks, after 12 years in recession and has done an impressive job restoring the ground midway between Strathalbyn and Goolwa to its former glory, with an elegant picket fence at the front of the pavilion shed and corrugated sight screens at each end.
Such is the ground’s pedigree, it has even hosted the South Australian sheepdog trials in recent times.
UNIVERSITY OVAL
JUST a couple of Travis Head tonks from Adelaide Oval sits “beautiful” University Oval.
The carpet-like surface, lovingly referred to as Bob Neil 1 by footballers who have shared the ground with Adelaide University cricket for more than 100 years, has views of the River Torrens and city skyline to one end and St Peter’s Cathedral, the Oval and the stately 1910 grandstand to the western wing.
In November, the clubs added to the oval’s allure by unveiling a picket fence between the pavilion and the scoreboard. Each picket honours one of the 180 AUFC/AUCC players who served in World War I, 20 of whom paid the ultimate sacrifice.
KENSINGTON OVAL
THE gumtree-lined Kensington Oval (not to be confused with the oval of the same name at Bridgetown, Barbados) has had a storeyed sporting history dating back to when it was opened as Shipsters Paddock in 1875.
It was home to Kensington, Norwood and even West Adelaide football clubs, and in 1934 was where a young Don Bradman chose to set up digs and play for Kensington Cricket Club after moving from NSW for a stockbroking job.
Many SA cricket fans of the vintage can fondly recall whiling away the hours watching the legend in action from the stunning Rex and Basil Sellers stand.
In 1963 the ground was converted to an athletics stadium, renamed Olympic Sports Field, and became home to Adelaide City soccer club.
It played host to state and national athletic championships, as well as soccer stars such as George Best and Bobby Charlton when Manchester United took on the SA state team in 1967.
The tartan was ripped up in 1995 and the ground returned to its former glory and is now used by Pembroke school.
Kensington Cricket Club’s more recent home up the road at Parkinson’s Oval is also a favourite for grade cricketers.
HAWTHORNDENE OVAL
THE scenic oval in Adelaide’s foothills has been home to several teams over the years, including the Coromandel Ramblers who play in the Adelaide and Suburban Cricket Association competition.
Aside from a history of balls being lost in the dandelions or creek, one of the oval’s greatest drawcards has nothing to do with cricket at all. Nearby Joan’s Pantry has been an icon since the 1920s when Joan made tea for the cricketers and is still going strong.
Weymouth Oval up the road is another great place to wield the willow.
FREW PARK
MOUNT Gambier is blessed with several lush green sports grounds, making it a popular location when it hosted the Australian Country Cricket Championships in 2016.
Frew Park is the city and Mount Gambier & District Cricket Association’s centrepiece, with its attractive picket fences and impressive history.
Marist Park, home to North Sportsmens Cricket Club and on the grounds of Tenison Woods College is another beauty, with the ground sitting on the crater of a volcano.
SUNBURY OVAL
IF you blink, you might miss the Sunbury Cricket Club.
The oval, lovingly referred by locals as “Lords”, is hidden among paddocks and trees a few clicks out of Yorketown and is home to oldest original grandstand on the Yorke Peninsula still in use.
The club is well known to players in the region for the “Sunbury bounce” — when the ball hits one of the ground’s many rabbit or pot holes.
It served as the perfect training ground for talented SA youngster Blake Gutshce, who in 2016 while playing for Woodville at the age of 17, unseated current Australian coach Darren Lehmann as the youngest-ever double-centurion in SA Premier Cricket.
LONG PLAINS OVAL
THE Long Plains Cricket Club boasts it has the best ground in the state north of Adelaide Oval. And it has a fair case.
The ground is an oasis of green between the wheat paddocks of the Adelaide Plains. It sits in the shadow of a water tower, and since 2013, an electronic scoreboard, and serves as the hub for the 68-person hamlet and surrounding farming community.
The proud and historic club — once part of the disbanded Adelaide Plains and then Lower Gilbert cricket associations and now playing in the Stanley Cricket Association — shares the ground with the United Football Club, which was formed from the merger of Long Plains and Dublin in 1964.
The ground was lucky to dodge the path of the deadly 2015 Pinery bushfire and in the aftermath, was the setting for a Super 8s cricket tournament which raised more than $120,000 — not to mention local spirits — for the bushfire recovery charity BlazeAid.
RICHARDSON PARK
ANOTHER selling point for the Stanley Cricket Association is Richardson Park, the home of the Sevenhill Cricket Club.
This ground is nestled between vines, trees and paddocks and widely regarded by those who’ve had the pleasure to play or spectate at it as one of the state’s prettiest.
The club, which had already produced two Test players in Arthur Richardson and Len Bowley, shifted from a nearby homestead to the park in 1949.
Such was the occasion, organisers busted out a ball that broke England player’s Bob Wyatt’s wrist during a match at Clare in 1936. Richardson also donated a five crown Bradman bat to the first player who made a century on the new ground.
THE HILL AT WISTOW
WITH a proud history dating back to 1896, what the small Wistow Cricket Club lacks in size it makes up for in big views from its iconic hilltop ground.
The club, just outside of Mount Barker, is another member of the Alexandra and Eastern Hills Cricket Association along with aforementioned Finniss Cricket Club.
MYLOR OVAL
THE leather on willow is said to echo through the valley on this idyllic tree-lined oval, where the greens of summer are matched only by the fiery tint of orange in autumn.
Mylor Cricket Club was established in 1893 and is just one of many drawcards of the Hills Cricket Association.
Originally published as Adelaide Oval is king of cricket grounds in South Australia but here are 11 other fine sporting venues
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