Cricket Grounds Down Under Trivia Quiz

The Western Australian Cricket Association Ground (WACA) was the main cricket ground for international competition in the state from 1898 through 1999, when the Perth Stadium was opened, and began to be used for international matches. The WACA continued to be used for both domestic and (through 2017) international matches.

The WACA is known for its bouncy surface, and the strong breeze known as the Fremantle Doctor which blows across the ground on most days; this makes it a favourite haunt for fast and seam bowlers (although several coaches over the years have commented that you have to encourage them to slow down a bit, and not try to rip every ball at lightning pace). The best Test bowling figures for the ground are held by Glenn McGrath, who took 8 wickets for 24 runs in a match against Pakistan in December of 2004. The WACA was also the venue for McGrath taking a Test hat-trick, dismissing Sherwin Campbell, Brian Lara and Westi Indies captain Jimmy Adams with three successive deliveries on 1 December 2000. This match was the first one in which Australia beat the Windies at the WACA, following five consecutive losses.

While most international matches are played in the more populous cities of Australia, Darwin has hosted some. Marrara Oval sees a lot more football, of various codes; when the cricket is there, it sometimes gets referred to as the Darwin Cricket Ground.

The first Test played in Darwin took place in July of 2003, against Bangladesh. That match saw Darren Lehmann and Steve Waugh each score centuries, and Stuart MacGill take 5/65, as Australia saw themselves victorious. A few weeks later these two countries played a ODI at Marrara, in which Ricky Ponting scored a century.

The second Test played at Marrara, in 2004, saw three bowlers take five wickets in an innings: Chaminda Vaas (5/31) for Sri Lanka, and Glenn McGrath (5/37) and Michael Kasprowicz (7/39) for the victorious Australians.

One of Australia's most picturesque cricket grounds was set up in 1871 by the South Australia Cricket Association, and saw its first Test played in 1884, between Australia and England. The early ground was very long and narrow for a cricket ground, making it a bit of a batter's paradise. Before ropes were added to shorten the longest axis, it was relatively common to see players score four all run, meaning they had time to score four runs without the ball actually leaving the field of play and giving them an automatic four. In fact, five all run was definitely on the cards! Redevelopment in 2011-14 made it abut 7 metres shorter and 9 metres wider, a shape better suited to the football that shares the ground during the winter season.

Adelaide is one of the few grounds to retain its Hill - a grassy mound on which patrons can sit with no reserved seating. It is next to the scoreboard, in use since 1911 and listed on the city of Adelaide Heritage Register. The bar underneath the scoreboard probably contributes to the vocal interactions between fans on the Hill and players.

Almost universally known as The Gabba (short for Woolloongabba, the suburb where it is located), this is one of the few Australian grounds where spin bowlers find themselves in their element. Other sports share the stadium - between 1972 and 1993 the greyhound track around the outside of the field of play was a prominent feature. It ws removed to make room for a larger playing field to accommodate the AFL (Australian Football Leage) team that was movig from the Gold Coast to Brisbane.

The first cricket match on the ground, played in 1896, was between teams representing Parliament and The Press. The first Test match was played in 1931, between Australia and South Africa, the first match of the tour. Brisbane is often, but not always, the first Test venue for tours.

The Gabba was the site of the first ever tie in a Test match in December 1960, when the Australians and the West Indies finished with both sides all out on exactly the same total score. The West Indies won the toss and chose to bat first, scoring 453; Australia's first innings scored 505; the second innings for the Windies saw them gain 284 runs, setting Australia a target of 233 to win. The final over (with time running out) saw Australia needing another 6 runs to win, with 8 balls to face and 3 wickets in hand. The second ball saw Richie Benaud caught out, the sixth ball saw Wally Grout run out after scoring the tying run. The seventh ball saw another runout, this time with no run scored, and the game finished in a tie.

The first cricket ground in the vicinity of the modern SCG was established in Moore Park in 1851, as a recreation area for the British soldiers stationed in the adjacent Victoria Barracks. In the 1870s the NSW Cricket Association took over control of the ground, and the first Test was played there in February of 1882, against England. (This was just before an Australian victory later that year at The Oval while competing in England led to the announcement of the death of English cricket, and the labeling of subsequent matches between the two countries as playing for the Ashes.) It was renamed the SCG in 1894, and its iconic scoreboard was in operation for the 1895-6 season.

Due to the size of Sydney's population, almost every international tour includes a Test at the SCG, so it has witnessed a long list of accomplishments and records. It traditionally is the venue for the New Year Test (which starts on a suitable day early in January so as to allow a gap after the end of the Boxing Day Test while still ensuring play on the weekend, when the largest crowds can be expected). Since 2008, the New Year Test has been designated the Pink Test, a fundraising event organised by Glenn McGrath and the McGrath Foundation to raise awareness of the needs of breast cancer patients. Pink stumps and pink attire are on display, especially on the third day, which is designated Jane McGrath Day in honour of the woman who was the driving force in setting up the McGrath Foundation even as she was battling breast cancer herself.

Manuka Oval is one of the smallest grounds on which international cricket is played in Australia. It is a regular venue for matches against touring teams and a Prime Minister's XI side, which is usually composed of promising locals and/or players who are just below the level for selection in the Test team. In the 1962-3 season, Sir Donald Bradman came out or retirement to play for the team selected by Prime Minister Robert Menzies to play against the Marylebone Cricket Club (as the English tourists were designated for non-official matches); he was dismissed for four runs, in his very last appearance (just a few more than in his last Test appearance, when he was famously out for a duck).

In February 2019 Australia played a Test against Sri Lanka, a match in which four Australians scored centuries: Joe Burns (180), Travis Head (161) and Kurtis Patterson (114 not out) in the first innings; Usman Khawaja 101 not out in the second innings when Australia declared at 196 for 3. Mitchell Starc took five wickets in each innings, to be named Player of the Match as Australia won by 366 runs - Sri Lanka's 215 and 149 combined did not reach the Australian first innings score of 534.

The MCG is the home of Australian cricket (don't listen to the naysayers from other states) and the Boxing Day Test is the crowning event of each summer's international cricket. The stadium also features as central to the Australian Football League in the winter, and was used for the opening and closing ceremonies of the 1956 Olympics and the 2006 Commonwealth Games. Not to mention concerts featuring international acts such as Paul McCartney and Taylor Swift, for which seating that covers most of the playing field allows massive audiences (and, since it is open air, those who cannot get in can gather outside ad listen while watching things on a big screen). Billy Graham's 1959 crusade attracted an audience of nearly 144,000 people.

The Melbourne Cricket Club selected the site (a Wurundjeri camping and corroboree site) for their ground in 1853, after several other sites had failed to work out satisfactorily. A members' stand was built in 1854, and the first public stand in 1861. There has been a lot more development over the intervening years!

In 1856 the MCG was the venue for the first inter-colonial match, between New South Wales and Victoria. A number of intercolonial contests followed, and English teams (selected by the tour promoter, not fully representative of the nation) toured several times playing individual colonial teams. On the fourth such tour, the captain of the touring team decided it was time to play against an Australian representative side, not just a colony. In 1877 the world's first Test match, between Australia and England, was played at the MCG. Australia won. Two years later, another English touring team played a match at the MCG which saw Fred Spofforth take the first Test hat-trick (three wickets taken on three successive deliveries).

The MCG was also the site of what is now considered the first ODI match, in 1971. The Test between England and Australia was abandoned following three days of rain making play impossible, and it was decided to play a 40-over-a-side match on what had been planned to be the fifth day of the Test. Australia won.

Eden Park, which seats up to 50,000 people, is often considered New Zealand's primary stadium - especially for rugby, which is played there in the winter months. The park opened for sport in 1900, and the first cricket match was played there in 1903. The first international Test match, against England, was played on the ground in 1914.

Eden Park has seen New Zealand's highs and lows in international cricket: it was the site of their first Test victory (against the West Indies in March of 1956), and of their lowest (to date) Test score of 26 all out almost exactly a year earlier against England. In 2018 Eden Park was the venue for the first day-night Test held in New Zealand, in which the Blackcaps needed 20.4 overs to finish off the English side's first innings, with a score of 58. New Zealand declared their first innings at 427 (for the loss of 8 wickets), and limited England to 320 runs in their second innings, leading to a win by an innings and 49 runs.

The Basin Reserve (often just called The Basin) is the international cricket ground in the New Zealand capital. It is listed with Heritage New Zealand as the oldest first-class cricket ground in the country. The site was once a lake, and there were plans to construct a canal connecting it to the sea; the 1855 Wairarapa earthquake, however, raised the level by nearly two meters, turning it into a shallow swamp rather than a lake.

Then the city decided they needed a recreational area, for which no provision had been made, and the council decided to drain the land and create The Basin.

The first cricket match was played there in 1868; the first Test match (against England) began on 24 January 1930.

Lancaster Park was a multi-purpose stadium use for cricket along with a number of other sports such as rugby, soccer, athletics and trotting. The ground was opened in 1881, and the first cricket Test was played there in 1930. The park underwent significant expansion and renovation over the years, before the 2011 earthquakes caused extensive damage, leading to its demolition in 2019. The last international cricket fixture played there was a 2011 ODI against Pakistan.

Following the 2011 earthquakes, Hagley Oval (which first saw a match in 1867 and had long been the venue for interprovincial matches) was renovated to become an international ground. In 2014 it hosted its first ODI (50 over match), and its first Test was in that same year, against Sri Lanka (the same team against whom they contested the final Test at Lancaster Park, in 2006). Unlike most international grounds, there is limited seating in stands - most observers sit on the grassy hills that surround the oval, bringing along blankets or folding chairs on which to sit.

Queenstown has not (as yet) hosted any Test matches, but the Queenstown Events Centre has been the venue for several ODI and T20I matches. The first ODI was played at the ground in 2003. In January New Zealand beat India in the fourth ODI of their tour, with Andre Adams taking 5 wickets for 22 runs in his allotted 10 overs.

In April of 2023, Sri Lanka was beaten on the second-last ball in the third T20I of their NZ tour, the first ever held in Queenstown.

Bellerive is a fairly recent addition to the international cricket scene, following a decision in the 1970s by the Tasmania Cricket Association to move their headquarters there, and redevelop the ground (getting rid of the hump in the middle that meant a player on one boundary could only see the top bit of a player in the other side of the ground).

The first international match played at Bellerive was an ODI between Sri Lanka and New Zealand in January 1988. The match, which was part of the Benson & Hedges World Series Cup, saw Sri Lanka win in front of a crowd of around 6,500. The first Test match was played in the next season, the second in the series between Australia and Sri Lanka; Australia's victory gave them a clean sweep of the two-Test series.