A day at the MCG - tres photos para ti
On a more self-indulgent note, here are three photos from my day at the MCG this past December (as before, click on the photos to get a larger size version). Tony T from the After Grog Blog (the comments section of which features some of the feistiest Aussie cricket fans out there) was kind enough to hook me up with a ticket to the Members' Reserve (the Members Stand, with just a little more posh to it). Yes, Tony is a member; his mum put his name on the waiting list when he was born; it took nineteen years for the membership to come through.
Tony lives within stone-throwing distance of the MCG so meeting up was easy, as was walking over to the reserve. The stand was pretty high up so there aren't any great action photos but you do get a sense of the grandeur of the MCG. I drank my first coffee evert at a test match on this day (and it was a surprisingly good cuppa too). When the time for beers rolled around, I realized that in the Reserve, you can't take your beers out of the bar. Gee. Still, a small price to pay I suppose.
The cricketing highlights were Umar Akmal's batting in the morning and Mohammed Aamer's fantastic spell late in the day.
The first shot, looking down past some hats:
Siddle bowling to Umar Akmal:
And then, Tony and myself at day's end:
Tony lives within stone-throwing distance of the MCG so meeting up was easy, as was walking over to the reserve. The stand was pretty high up so there aren't any great action photos but you do get a sense of the grandeur of the MCG. I drank my first coffee evert at a test match on this day (and it was a surprisingly good cuppa too). When the time for beers rolled around, I realized that in the Reserve, you can't take your beers out of the bar. Gee. Still, a small price to pay I suppose.
The cricketing highlights were Umar Akmal's batting in the morning and Mohammed Aamer's fantastic spell late in the day.
The first shot, looking down past some hats:
Siddle bowling to Umar Akmal:
And then, Tony and myself at day's end:
Labels: After Grog Blog, Australia, MCG, Mohammed Aamer, Pakistan, test cricket, Umar Akmal
posted by Samir Chopra at 7:33 PM
8 Comments:
Samir, if you wanna' get awesome views in test matches at a dead cheap price, come to Sri Lanka.
At SSC, which is the home of Sri Lankan cricket, a ticket to the upper grandstand (which is the second best stand in the ground, after the corporate boxes) costs a measly 500 Sri Lankan Rupees (about 4.5 US dollars)....
The view....heavenly, IMO!
It's basically a side view of the strip, from about the height from which the first pic was taken...
Went to watch the Pakistan SL match last year from the upper grandstand. It was the best view that I've ever had of a test match. It also helps that there was plenty of room to stretch the legs and to even have a quick nap during the lunch break! :P
Can't wait for the matches against India! :)
Thiru,
Trust me; I'm dying to see a test match in Galle. And I'll take your word about the SSC. I'm sure its heavenly!
What is the eating-drinking situation at the grounds? Can you bring in your own goods? Can you consume alcohol at the grounds?
Someday, I hope to do it. (The season doesn't mesh with my semester breaks most of the time).
Stuck in the snow of a New York winter, I am very jealous!
David,
Good to hear from you. It's been a while! Trust me, I didn't enjoy my return to New York at all!
Can we hope that you will make a return to blogging soon?
Cheers,
Samir
Snow, rain - what is not to love about New York in March!?!
The blogging was put on hold by work, then procrastination and then more work. It might enjoy a second life at some point but for now I have started a slightly more sedate cricket project - some research on America's golden age of cricket, focusing on Percy Clark and J. Barton King.
Hope that we can watch another game or two together at some point.
All best,
David
H
David,
I understand entirely; hope things will clear up down the line. In the meantime, your project sounds fascinating. I'd love to take a look at anything you write up. Are you going to make a field trip to Philadelphia to do archival research as well? :)
And yes, hopefully, some cricket watching together down the line - perhaps over the summer?
Cheers,
Samir
Thanks Samir. At the moment I am exhausting the NYPL resources (they have a few interesting books and the back catalogue of American Cricketer) but if I do decide to do it seriously I would need to make a trip to Haverford. Just finding the time that is tricky, as their cricket library is not open very often. We shall see, but hope to catch up at some point later on in the year.
David
David,
Would you mind letting me take a look at the bibliography you generate? I'd be very interested. And I didn't even know about the cricket library in Haverford. Good luck with all of this - and good on you for taking it on.
Cheers,
Samir
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