A Day At The Gabba | Thebigtip

This was my first time at any of the big Australian cricket grounds so naturally I was pretty darn excited. By the end of the day however my spirits were as damp as the shirt I was wearing as first the Black Caps and then the Brisbane weather undermined all of my best-laid plans.

The first thing that struck me about Test matches in Australia is that people really seem to get into it. Despite the perceived lowliness of the opposition and the poor forecast people flocked to Woolloongabba in numbers and there was a real sense of occasion about things. From people dressed in yellow capes, to groups in matching pyjamas, to giant Gatorade bottles on segways taking the field at every drinks break, the Gabba was showing that Test cricket can be every bit as fun as its younger, more attractive cousins.

After lining for tickets my friend and I took our seats in the topmost row. It is a long way down to the pitch from back there but it offers an almost bird’s eye view of goings on out in the middle.

New Zealand rollicked along in the first ten overs, going at more than four. Brendon McCullum was punishing, as usual, while Martin Guptill was circumspect. And that was where the fun stopped.

Guptill was out first, caught behind off Peter Siddle (Australia’s newest attack leader) and McCullum was out soon after slashing to point. From there the wickets fell at regular intervals with none of the batsmen able to get themselves in. Certainly there was a bit there for the bowlers but mostly it was down to ill-discipline. The Black Caps went to lunch at 88-4 and lost Jesse Ryder directly after.

A little surprisingly Daniel Vettori was elevated to seven on the batting card and as much as I was hoping the runs would come from someone in the top five, by this stage I was just glad to see a partnership put together.

Vettori and Dean Brownlie spent the session rebuilding in a manner which would have pleased Christchurch mayor Bob Parker. By the time the players left the field for an early tea due to bad light, they had put on a very solid looking 80.

With the light unlikely to improve and the grey-black skies looking ominous we left the ground (as did everyone else by look of things) and lucky we did as the clouds stopped threatening and started to deliver on their promise.

It bucketed down as we walked back to the station and by the time we boarded the train we were thoroughly saturated.

For me, today was the emotional equivalent of an over from Mitchell Johnson. It started with great promise and ended up horribly wayward, with all sorts of peaks and troughs in between.

Thank you Gabba for showing me how fun Test cricket can be – pity about the rest.