Australians are reknowned worldwide for their competetive spirit and when it comes to cricket they like to think that they are the best!

There is an enormous number of amateur cricket clubs in Australia where cricketers of all abilities dream one day of playing for their state side and then for their beloved Australia. There most used and well known of the 9 cricket test match grounds in Australia are at the following venues:-

MELBOURNE-MELBOURNE CRICKET GROUND (MCG)

The Melbourne Cricket Ground is Australia's sporting Mecca and considered the Home of Australian Football. It has a capacity of almost 100,000 and it is home to the AFL(Australian Football League) Grand Final and other matches such as the Anzac Day Blockbuster between Essendon and Collingwood each season. These days its title is somewhat misleading, for football dominates the ground during winter, while only a relative handful of international cricket matches are played there in summer. Nonetheless, the MCG has a special place in the hearts of all cricket and football fans in Victoria.

The MCG played host to the first-ever Cricket Test match between Australia and England in 1877, and it’s at the MCG where a world record crowd of 90,800 packed into the stadium to watch Australia play the West Indies in 1961. The MCG often plays host to Test match cricket on Boxing Day and it has hosted sell-out rock concerts, soccer and rugby internationals as well as the Olympic Games.

Eating & Drinking
There are numerous food areas within the ground plus dining rooms in the Melbourne Cricket Club and the AFL Members' areas of the MCG. There are also take-away food stalls and vans around the ground though you may have to be prepared for a wait!
The precincts around the MCG also have many restaurants, cafes and pubs to suit most tastes.

In Swan Street Richmond there is a well known Greek restaurant area and bars closer to the MCG ground. If Asian cuisine is your preferred choice, Bridge Road has many of this type of restaurant whilst Wellington Parade, to the north of the ground has cafes, bistros bars and the famous MCG Hotel.

There are two hotels along the eastern side of the MCG car park on Punt Road, and it’s here where football fans are always known for spilling out on the footpath and side streets long before a match is due to start.

Melbourne’s 'bar culture' has grown enormously in the past few years and several of the establishments on the eastern side of the CBD are just a short walk through the Fitzroy and Treasury gardens to the MCG.

Accommodation
There are enough accommodation options within several hotels which are within walking distance of the ground and an abundance of choices to suit most pockets in the CBD area of Melbourne. These include the 5 star Melbourne Grand and Langham Hotels or for something more reasonable look at the 3.5 star Mercure Hotel Welcome Melbourne on Little Bourke Street.

The 5 star Hilton in the Park Hotel in Wellington Parade regularly hosts football and cricket teams when they in town. Metro Inns and Flag Choice are both located in Jolimont Road, just a long drop punt to the MCC members' entrance.
At the other end of the scale, the Royal Hotel in Punt Road offers accommodation only and there are many hostels and budget hotels in the city for those on a real tight budget.

But it's rules football that consistently pulls in big crowds from March through to September.Melbourne, Hawthorn, Collingwood and Richmond are all tenant clubs of the MCG, but each of the other Melbourne-based AFL clubs, in particular Carlton and Essendon, will play home matches at the stadium in any given season.

Getting there
The location of Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) is in Yarra Park. It is serviced well by public transport. From Melbourne city, getting to the ground by train or tram pretty easy.

Walking from the city is also an option if you have the time and want to get a good feel of Melbourne. Parking is plentiful in Yarra Park but it does get extremely busy in and around Melbourne, especially on Friday nights.

By train - The nearest railway stations to the MCG are Richmond and Jolimont.. From the city, Hurstbridge and Epping line trains stop at Jolimont while Glen Waverley, Lilydale, Belgrave, Sandringham, Pakenham and Cranbourne line trains stop at Richmond.

By tram - From Melbourne city, catch the Wattle Park tram (no.70), the North Balwyn tram(no.48) and the East Burwood tram(no.75). All of these trams run along Flinders Street and pass by the Melbourne Cricket Ground(MCG).

On foot - The MCG is easily accessible from the Central Business District via a network of purpose built pedestrian paths linking the MCG with Vodafone Arena and Melbourne Park. It's a 10 minute walk along the trail from Federation Square alongside the river and is well signposted.

Water taxi - Those with some time on their hand and wanting to do something different may want to travel by water to the MCG. Water Taxis now leave the Docklands and Southbank at regular intervals and boarding is on the Yarra River just near the National Tennis Centre at Melbourne Park, which is the opposite side of a footbridge from the ground.

SYDNEY CRICKET GROUND (SCG)

Australian Rules Football and the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) have only really been acquainted quite recently as the Sydney Swans, whose administrative and training facilities are located at the SCG, have called the SCG their home since 1982. But cricket and tennis, amongst other sports, were taking place in Moore Park, where the Sydney Cricket Ground is situated, ever since the settlement of white Europeans.

In 1876 a trust was made to set aside a section of Moore Park and manage what we now know as the Sydney Cricket Ground. After ten years, it was decided to replace the single wooden stand and replace it with a new Members Pavilion.

The Hill Stand, Ladies’ Stand and Northern Stand were completed before the end of the century. These were followed in 1936 by the Noble Stand, and, with the arrival of 1973, came the construction of the Bradman, Brewongle, O’Reilly and Churchill Stands.

The stadium was the principal host for top Grade Rugby League as well as Soccer and Rugby internationals for almost a 100 years until the opening of the nearby Sydney Football Stadium in 1988.

The SCG remains the home of first class, Test and One Day International cricket in Sydney and it has been and still remains the scene of some of cricket’s finest and most significant moments.

The all-time record SGC crowd is 78,056 for a 1965 St.George v. South Sydney Rugby League final.

The record test match cricket attendance is 58,446 (Australia v England, 1928 Ashes series) while 46,168 packed in to watch the Swans play Geelong on 30 August 1997 to register the best crowd for an AFL fixture.

The Sydney Cricket Ground’s(SCG) current seating capacity is 43,562.

Eating and Drinking
The entertainment quarter bars, restaurants, markets, music venues and cinemas located closeby are open seven days.
The Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) is a just ten minutes on foot from the popular pubs, restaurants and bars of Oxford Street, Paddington.

Around the SCG there are numerous caravans and stalls selling food to suit everyone's tastes with a variety of options on game day. In addition there is a good choice of refreshments within the ground.

Accommodation
As one would expect, there is a wide range of hotel accommodation available in and around nearby Randwick and Paddington but you can also gain easy access to the Sydney Cricket Ground from the main City hotels in the CBD district of Sydney.

Getting there
The Sydney Cricket Ground is located at Moore Park on Moore Park Road, Paddington and is 4km from the central business district. It is adjacent to restaurants, bars cinemas and the shops of Fox Studios Australia.

ADELAIDE OVAL

Adelaide Oval is one of Australia's most picturesque test cricket grounds. It is situated in parklands with the backdrop of St.Peter's Cathedral that rise behind an elegant Edwardian scoreboard at the nothern end of the ground. The ground dates back to 1871 and has a lot of charm to go with its significant history. Adelaide Oval, centrally located on War Memorial Drive in North Adelaide, now has three main grandstands. There is the 2-tiered Bradman Stand at the Southern end, a one level stand, which stretches the whole Western wing, and the newest of these stands, the Chappell Stands on the Eastern side of the ground which were constructed in 2003. The rest of the ground is grassy banks which includes several rows of seating near the boundary fence taking the ground capacity to about 32,000 spectators for cricket and 34,000 for football.The Adelaide Oval is a 5 minute drive, or 15 minute walk, from the city centre and parking is available close to all the function areas.

The Adelaide Oval is within easy reach of Adelaide’s hotels and accommodation and is less than 20 minutes from the new Adelaide International Airport.The ground is managed by the South Australian Cricket Association and the home cricket side are the ‘Red Backs’ but there are Other sports to be played at Adelaide Oval apart from Cricket and these include Australian Football since 1877 in the SANFL and Rugby League in 1997 and 1998. It also hosted two games during the 2003 Rugby World Cup.

BRISBANE-BRISBANE CRICKET GROUND (GABBA)

Affectionately known by cricket fans around the world as "the Gabba," courtesy of the suburb of Woolloongabba it resides in, the Brisbane Cricket Ground had an unpromising beginning. In 1895 a lease of an area of swampland, previously set aside as a recreation reserve, was granted to the Queensland Cricket Association for the establishment of a cricket ground. International Test match cricket first took place at the Brisbane Cricket Ground on 27 November 1931, when Australia played South Africa.

In the past, the ground has held such sporting events as bicycle racing and greyhound racing and is now the home of Australian Rules Football in Queensland with the Brisbane Lions the ground home rules football team. The Gabba is the home of Queensland Cricket with all test and one-day matches played at the venue, the Queensland Bulls also call the ground home. The spectator areas of the ground have been progressively renovated since 1993 with new grandstands, lighting and two video scoreboards. The most recent development was the 24-bay grandstand filling in the area where the Brisbane Lions Australian Football Social Club once stood, completed in 2005, lifting the ground's capacity to 42,000.

Recently,the biggest events to be held at the ground include the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games, where the ground hosted several Football matches including Brazil against Cameroon in the quarter finals which attracted a crowd of 37,332 and also the Australia v British & Irish Lions Rugby Union Test Match in 2001 attracting a record crowd since it’s redevelopment of 37,460.

To reach the Gabba from Vulture Street you exit off South East Freeway southbound, from Stanley Street exit South East Freeway northbound and from Storey Bridge via Main Street. If travelling by bus take the one to the Fiveways, Woolloongabba. The nearest train stop is Vulture Street station which is about 15 minutes from the ground.

City to the Gabba
The free City-Gabba event shuttle buses will pick up passengers from directly outside Roma Street Rail Station at bus stop 125, picking up at Adelaide Street opposite City Hall (Stop Number 42A), then all Busway Stations to the Gabba setting down in Stanley Street (Outside The Gabba gate 1.)

Eight Mile Plains to the Gabba
Depart Eight Mile Plains Busway Station, picking up at all Busway Stations to and including Buranda Busway Station, then to platform 1Woolloongabba Busway Station.

Carindale to the Gabba
Depart Carindale Interchange zone "H" picking up at Carina (stop Number 35), Camp Hill (stop number 30), Coorparoo (stop Number 23S), Coorparoo West (Mains Avenue), setting down at platform 1 Woolloongabba Busway Station.

Chermside to the Gabba
Departing Chermside Interchange zone " D", picking up at Kedron North (stop Number 31), Kedron (stop Number 23), Lutwyche (stop Number 20), Windsor Rail (stop Number 13), Royal Brisbane Hospital (stop Number 9), Royal Children Hospital- Herston Station, Kelvin Grove QUT Station, Normanby Station then express to Woolloongabba setting down at Main Street approaching Vulture Street (stop Number 9).

Woolloongabba Busway Station – diversions to normal scheduled bus services
Woolloongabba Busway Station Platform 1 will not be used on inbound scheduled services on match days for a period of 1 hour after the match. These services will pick up passengers at Stop number 9A Stanley Street outside the Chalk Hotel.

The Gabba to Eight Mile Plains
Eight Mile Plains event shuttles now depart from inbound platform (1) Woolloongabba Busway Station (not from Jurgen Street).

The Gabba to Carindale
Carindale shuttles will now depart from outbound platform 2 Woolloongabba Busway Station (not from Jurgen Street). Platform 2 will also have normal outbound scheduled services.

The Gabba to Chermside
Chermside shuttles will now depart on Main Street between Vulture and Stanley Streets (not from Jurgen Street).

The Gabba to the City
City shuttles will now depart along Stanley Street between Ipswich and Wellington Roads (not from Woolloongabba Busway Station platform 1).

Disabled Parking
Disabled parking can be found just outside the Gabba and access should be made from Wellington Road just after where it crosses with Stanley Street.

A set-down and pick-up zone for people with disabilities can be found on Duke Street.
A taxi rank is located on Wellington Road between Stanley and Vulture Streets.
An authorised passenger loading zone is located on Linton Road between Duke St and Wellington Rd and can be used for five minutes general set-down and pick-up only.

Road closures around the stadium:
Stanley Street in front of the stadium will be closed pre and post event (Brisbane Transport buses excepted). Vulture Street behind the stadium will be closed post event only (Brisbane Transport buses excepted). Due to the road closures, some scheduled bus services will not observe certain bus stops around the Gabba.

Eating & Drinking
There is more than 50 food and beverage outlets around the Gabba. These serve a wide range of dishes including some of Queensland’s best seafood, home made pizzas, Italian coffee and pastries, fresh salads and much more. There's also numerous cafes and hotels closeby.

Accommodation
As it is centrally located, the Gabba has plenty of accommodation available within a short drive of the ground. The Central Business District is only a few minutes away and all the major hotels are familiar with how to cater for football patrons from out of town.

PERTH- WESTERN AUSTRALIA CRICKET ASSOCIATION (WACA)

The WACA (Western Australian Cricket Association Ground), in Perth, has hosted many sports in the past. It is the home of Western Australian Cricket with International Test matches and State Cricket fixtures held annually at the ground. In years past, the WACA has also hosted Australian Football, Rugby League, Rugby Union & Soccer. In 2002 the WACA went through a major redevelopment programme resulting in greater facilities for both players and spectators. The redevelopment reduced the crowd capacity at the WACA to 22,500 and also decreased the size of the playing arena so much that it meant Australian Football could no longer be played at here.

Other redevelopment features included moving the members end to the opposite end of the ground, the erection of a new pavilion beside the Lillee Marsh (Members) Stand, (resulting in the demolition of the old players pavilion and Farley Stand), installing new seats throughout the stadium and replacing seats with grass hills on each side of the ground. Although the pernament capacity of the stadium is 22,500, temporary stands can be erected for major events enabling the capaciy to be boosted by 1,500 to around 24,000. The other two grandstands at the venue are the Prindiville Stand - a three tiered stand opposite the members stand, and the Inverarity stand situated at the side of it.

Getting there
The WACA is Western Australia’s most recognisable sports stadium and sits on the banks of the Swan River at on Hale Street, East Perth 6004.

The airport at Perth is 16km away and trains run to East Perth terminal from where you can get a taxi to the stadium. Buses run to the WACA from the main station on Wellington Street. Yellow Central Area Transit (CAT) Buses pick up/drop off at the intersection of Hale St and Waterloo Crescent (connects to Perth and Claisebrook train stations). Red Central Area Transit (CAT) Buses pick-up/drop off at Queens Gardens (connects to Perth train station).

There is wheelchair access to most parts of the WACA stadium except the upper level and level five of the Lillee Marsh Stand. This access includes function areas, stadium viewing, grass banks, restaurants and bars.

HOBART-TASMANIA BELLERIVE OVAL

The home of Tasmanian cricket, the Bellerive Oval is nestled on the eastern shores of the Derwent River opposite Hobart's CBD. Being a relatively young cricket ground (it did not replace the TCA ground on the Domain as Hobart's first class cricket headquarters until the 1987/88 season), all of its facilities are fairly modern. Possessing two principal (the Northern Stand and the AGC Pavilion) and five smaller stands, and a spacious hill, the venue's capacity is approximately 16,000. The oval itself is fairly large in size, being comparable in dimension to the MCG, but has slightly shorter square boundaries. Curator Peter Apps tends to prepare pitches which yield quite a few runs but has slowly changed the character of the wicket square so that games are now featuring a more even struggle between bat and ball. Pitches at the ground often prove slow in pace early and then gradually flatten out. Due to the Oval's location, playing conditions are often affected by Hobart's afternoon sea breezes.
WORLD-class sporting arena seating thousands of cricket spectators was probably the last thing the Tasmanian pioneers who established an orchard in the scrubland behind Bellerive Beach in Hobart's early years imagined for the future of this site.
But two centuries later, that transformation is complete and we now have an arena capable of hosting major cricket and other events in which players, spectators and the media can enjoy facilities rivalling the best in the world.

In the first decade or so after first settlement in 1803-1804, settlers on the Derwent River's Eastern Shore did not even have a ferry service across the river, let alone a bridge. They battled to build a livelihood in the dry but fertile soil. Behind Bellerive Beach, pasture and fruit trees were planted.

A growing Bellerive community was the centre for the new municipality, Clarence, established in 1860 to serve settlements as far afield as South Arm and Beltana, now Lindisfarne.

In 1880, the Kangaroo Bluff Battery, which still stands today, was built to bolster Hobart's harbour defences.

Cricket was an important summer event on the Eastern Shore, as it was elsewhere on the island colony. Competitions between clubs at Bellerive, Rokeby, Sandford and South Arm were under way by the 1860s - an early sign of what the future held for this area.

But cricket had some fierce competition from Australian Rules Football, which had gained a toehold by 1880. The first recorded match was between Bellerive and Carlton in 1884.

Dry, rough, stony
Open paddocks provided the first grounds for matches, an early venue being open ground between Cambridge Road and River Street. But in 1913, Clarence Council received an offer too good to refuse.
The Beachside Estate, part of an original 50-acre (about 20 hectares) land grant to James McCormack, was offered for sale to the council by the family of Sir Neil Elliott Lewis and Richard Charles Lewis for £3,250.
The council recovered its considerable investment soon afterwards by subdividing part of the land for residential purposes. A 21-acre (about eight hectares) reserve, Bellerive Recreation Ground, was set aside for public use.
The two entry points for matches were at the corners of Church and Beach Streets and Park and Derwent Streets.
The ground's surface was anything but easy to play on. Stones littered the surface, and as water was scarce, grass was dry and sparse through the summer months.

A hump in the centre of the ground obscured the bottom half of players on the opposite wing. Facilities were primitive, including a tin shed for players with no cover for spectators.

Until after World War 2, the ground was used for a range of sports, including Australian Rules Football, cycling and horse-racing. Cricket was played on a concrete pitch until turf wickets were installed for the 1956/1957 season.
As a condition of joining the Tasmanian Football League district competition in 1948, Clarence Football Club was required to upgrade the facilities.

With great effort the concrete cricket pitch was removed - at first it had to be replaced at the end of each winter - and 1,000 tons of soil spread. Much of that blew away soon after because no rain meant the grass failed to take root. New football clubrooms were built in 1961, a public address system installed in 1963, and a 500-spectator stand in the same year. In 1965 the ground was resown.

The Clarence Cricket Club was revitalised under its President, Denis Rogers, in the early 1980s, at the same time as Tasmania was beginning its Sheffield Shield career. New clubrooms and spectator facilities made the ground the envy of other clubs.
Bellerive Oval as you've never seen it before.

Bellerive Oval was still only a good suburban ground when Denis Rogers took over as chairman of the TCA in 1986. The exhibition area newly laid surface was enhanced with a new three-level TCA Members Pavilion in time for the TCA to move its headquarters from traditional Hobart Domain base to Bellerive in 1987.

On 12 January 1988, Tasmania hosted its first international match, a one-day affair between New Zealand and Sri Lanka. The success of this event and strong lobbying by the TCA led to ACB approval for the first Test match on Tasmanian soil from 16 to 20 December 1989, between Australia and Sri Lanka.
Around this time and into the 1990s, Bellerive Oval was enhanced by a new northern stand, an electronic scoreboard and improved player facilities. A less welcome enhancement was the southern-end toilet block, which became the most televised toilets in Australia.

The concept of a 'boutique' cricket ground was developed in the late 1990s, with a total accommodation for 16,000, extended player and member pavilions, a new southern stand, new media facilities, an indoor cricket centre, new outdoor practice wickets, a new electronic scoreboard, relocated and improved video replay facilities, and better entry facilities.
January 2003 sees Bellerive Oval as the premier sporting ground in Tasmania - one of Australia's top-level cricket venues. It stands ready for any challenge thrown up in the new century.

The Clarence district on the eastern shore of the Derwent River was settled soon after Hobart was established in 1804. The early settlers faced problems such as storms and drought, snakes, shortages of seed, livestock and equipment, the need to use unskilled convict labour, attacks from bushrangers, as well as the isolation from Hobart by the river, but the district was fertile and especially good for growing fruit, and many farms were established.

By 1820's more settlers had arrived and a township developed at Kangaroo Point, later called Bellerive. Ferries linked it with Hobart from 1816, there were several hotels and shops, and as time passed there were also a school, churches, post office and the Bellerive Institute (1867). There were also some industries - boat building and quarrying the area's fine sandstone, but most inhabitants relied on farming for a living.

The Municipality of Clarence was established in 1860 with Bellerive the center and other towns at Clarence Plains (Rokeby), Sandford, South Arm, Rosny and Beltana. Hotels were a focal point. Well known were the Bellerive Hotel built in 1858 near the ferry terminal and opposite it, the Clarence, established in 1872.

Clarence was also important for defence and in 1880 a battery was built at Kangaroo Bluff.

The people of Clarence enjoyed various sports. The Rokeby Cricket Club was founded in 1860 and played against teams from South Arm, Sandford and Bellerive. Australian football began to gain popularity in Tasmania in the 1870s and the first mention of a club in the Clarence area was in June 1884 when a match was played between Carlton and Bellerive.

At first community sport was played in a paddock which stretched from Cambridge Road to River Street. (Alison Alexander's book - You're in Roo Country).

At its meeting on 12 February 1913, the Clarence Council tabled a letter from the Beachside Estate in reference to an offer of the Beachside Estate to Council for the sum of 3250 pounds by the owners, Mr. H Foster (the executor to the estate of Sir Neil Elliott Lewis and Richard Charles Lewis). The property was part of an original land grant of 50 acres to James McCormack and was primarily used as an orchard.

On 9 April 1913, the Special Minutes of the proceedings of a meeting held for the purpose stated that a special resolution regarding this property was moved and under the Local Government Act 1906, Sections 190-193, Council agreed to borrow 3300 pounds to purchase the property. The Title of the land, of 34 acres, included the street reserves - Church, Derwent and Park streets. The Title transferred to Council ownership on 1 August 1913.

These records confirm the land, including the Bellerive Oval site, was in fact purchased by Council during 1913 and not given, with any special conditions, to Council as may have been the popular misconception in the community.

It was a good commercial deal for the Council for there was subdivision potential and after some negotiations with the Anglican and Catholic Churches, the Council subdivided the land and sold some 61 lots, initially offered at auction on 30 May 1914.

Following subdivision for housing development, and formation of streets undertaken by Council after WWI, an area designated as the Bellerive Recreational Ground, amounting to 21 acres was set aside for "recreational purposes". This area, bounded by Derwent, Church and Beach streets, gradually took shape. There is photographic and anecdotal evidence to suggest that at least a fence and probably trees were established as a perimeter around the land which included the present public reserve. There was a gate at the Church and Beach Streets corner and another at the opposite Park and Derwent Streets corner.

People coming from the ferry would walk up Park Street then take a short cut across the oval to Beach Street. Others would take a short cut in the opposite direction to Corpus Christie school, near the corner of Church and Derwent Streets, so the oval was crossed with two paths, like sheep tracks. Sometimes people would even walk across the oval during football matches.

The earliest photograph located to date, circa 1910 indicates an open area in the vicinity (of Bellerive). The TCA has a "Beattie" framed photograph taken from around Hill Street showing a formed oval with a concrete wicket; this picture is dated circa 1925.

The surface of the ground was nothing to write about. Grass was sparse, for Bellerive did not have a proper water supply and residents relied on tanks in summer so there was no water to spare for the oval. As well, the ground was rough and rather stony. In 1930 facilities were poor, just a tin shed. There was no cover for spectators. During the late 1930s the ground was partially leveled and given a top dressing. (Alexander).

During the thirties there was a cinder track around the ground and the ground was a regular venue for both horse racing (trotter) and bicycle races. Through the week horses trained around the old wooden perimeter fence. A Bellerive football captain, Bob Wells was killed while training a horse on the track.

The ground had quite a camber - in fact it was possible to see only the upper torso of a player on an opposite wing. The ground sloped noticeably from the northern to the river end.

An old ferry terminal at the Rose Bay jetty was dismantled and re-assembled at Bellerive. The shelter shed in the top corner (Church and Derwent) and served as a dressing room until a more permanent brick building was erected for the purpose.

The WWII construction of the floating bridge across the Derwent River closed the gap between the City of Hobart and the Eastern Shore community and the footballers were encouraged to join the senior competition but there was a demand that Bellerive Oval be upgraded before the new Clarence District Football Club would be admitted to the TFL. In 1946 the ground was graded and re-sown; the fence around the ground replaced and seating, a lower railing round the ground beside the fence, provided. There were rooms for umpires and timekeepers; hot and cold showers were installed and the visitors shed was painted and electricity installed.

The original boundary perimeter fencing was moved in to enclose the ground for security and crowd control. The old fence with so many holes was impossible to police, but as funds were short, it was decided to erect a new fence closer to the oval to lessen the cost of materials and on completion the ground boundary no longer included the present public reserve near the beach.

A major task was the removal of the concrete cricket pitch. Previously it had been covered with dirt in the winter but this was unsatisfactory and the TFL insisted it be removed. As there were no pneumatic drills the layer of concrete was dug out by volunteer labour with picks and crowbars.

The wicket area was made into grass and this was achieved by providing instant lawn - grass grown at the golf course, cut into blocks and laid on the wicket area. At the conclusion of the football season, the club had to replace the concrete wicket for the cricketers. They made sure the pitch was constructed of weaker concrete and of sufficient thickness to avoid the hard yakka the next year.

Prior to the start of the 1948 season, an open stand was built on the western wing.

Despite the efforts to maintain the ground, there were many creeping weeds on the surface and when it was removed there was very little grass. At the end of the 1948 football season, a 1000 tons of soil was spread and seed sown but there was no rain and the wind blew most of the soil away. The ground could not be used for several weeks. (Alexander).

Cricket was slower to structure at Bellerive and it wasn't until the early 1950's that a concerted effort was made to establish a district cricket club at Bellerive. The 1956-57 season saw Clarence District Cricket Club admitted to the TCA with teams participating in all three grades.TCA minutes record that in 1955 the Clarence Municipal Council wrote expressing concern that the laying of turf wickets at Bellerive may have a detrimental effect on the playing of football at the oval. After some deliberation the TCA responded with the view experience elsewhere did not support that view for across Australia at all major venues both sports were played without discourse. The secretary went to some pain to explain the level of usage by both sports at the TCA ground on the Domain; he must have been convincing for the Clarence Council agreed to the laying of turf wickets and the playing of grade cricket was underway the following year. (The new turf wickets were officially opened by the Warden of Clarence on 19 January 1957).

When former Melbourne FC (VFL) footballer, Stuart Spencer was appointed coach of the football club in 1957 he was appalled when he went to Bellerive Oval and saw the hump on the ground and the tin shed which served as a change room. Quite a contrast to the MCG with its new Olympic standard change rooms and the club set about planning to build new clubrooms on the ground.

By 1962 the clubrooms and change rooms at Bellerive had been completed built beside the oval. Much was undertaken with volunteer help and the rooms were opened in October 1961. But Bellerive still had its hump in the middle and with few buildings to shelter it, was open to the wind.

There were further improvements in 1963, the TFL installed a public address system and the club with assistance from the Council built a new stand, also on the western side, to seat 500 people. This disrupted the traditional practice of driving cars in and parking round the fence. Occupants had a good view as the ground was banked and they could sit in the comfort and warmth of their cars to watch the football.

In the summer of 1965 the surface of the oval was torn up again and re-sown. The ground was floodlit by four 22m high towers purchased cheaply from the HEC. (Alexander).

By the early 1980's more substantial clubrooms were demanded and the Council obliged by assisting the cricket club erected its impressive two level clubrooms. New spectator facilities were added and by July 1984, the western side of the oval had taken the shape of a suburban sporting arena.

At this time there was a gravel road around the ground with broad parking facility on a ramped eastern side. A new steel and cyclone wire fence was added and in 1985 a new stand constructed at the northern goal post end.

The takeover of the TCA by Denis Rogers in 1986 was a watershed. Rogers had earlier been the lynch pin at Clarence CC - taking over as President and through his drive and initiative the club was revitalised. In 1981-82 season the club won the first of its run four consecutive premierships in first grade and off-field the administration moved ahead with its club facilities - still the envy of most other TCA clubs.

Realising the chances of expanding Tasmania's potential as a first class cricketing state depended on a major redevelopment of its playing facilities, the TCA negotiated with state and local government and found the Clarence Council most amenable to its plans.

In 1986 the ground surface was ripped up and re-laid on a more level and sandy base. Construction of the TCA Members' Pavilion adjacent to the Clarence CC clubrooms began. This three-level pavilion was completed in time for the 1987-88 season and the TCA moved its administration to its new headquarters. New fencing and additional stands at both ends of the ground, plus improvements to the existing were undertaken. All this was completed in time for the first first-class fixtures played at Bellerive:

One Day International New Zealand v Sri Lanka on 12 January 1988, which was followed by Tasmania's first match at Bellerive v Sri Lanka during 23-25 January 1988.

The success of this ODI and the perseverance by the TCA encouraged the ACB to approve use of Bellerive for a Test match and the following season Australia played Sri Lanka (again involved) over 16-20 December 1989. Bellerive had been granted TEST MATCH status.

Before this game was played however, further improvements were undertaken. Firstly the northern end stand was also demolished and a large open concrete stand became an imposing addition. Less impressive was the construction of a toilet block at the southern end. This would in time become the most televised toilet in the cricket world with the camera focused on the sand coloured brick building which even with advertising hoarding failed to overcome the 'cringe factor".

Later the old electronic scoreboard previously used at the Domain ground and reconstructed on the north east corner of the oval was replaced. It was always a stopgap measure and frequently had 'cerebral hemorrhages' due to power surges or not enough power at all. Its replacement, an imposing traditional styled electronic board was erected on the southeastern wing opposite the members. A large video screen was added with spectator demand for replay facilities now an expectation.
Early in the 1990's the TCA embarked on an ambitious redevelopment plan to increase spectator capacity, improve player facilities and expand membership services. Sadly, misconceived public opposition to these plans was significant and given much prominence by the media.

Firstly the outdoors practice wickets. Plans to construct outdoor wickets involved the accessing of land to the south of the Oval beyond the security fence surrounding the ground. It involved the removal of several old pine trees but despite the landscaping designed to enhance a previous exempt space, the opponents protracted the formal approval process for many months. It was to be a forerunner to the larger protest against the Oval Redevelopment Plan.

Directions: Access is available across Tasman Bridge, turn right at Cambridge road, Hobart. Left into Clarence Street, right into Derwent Street.Metro buses are available to and from Bellerive Oval. Ferry Services from City to Bellerive Wharf. (4 minutes walk)

Parking: Accommodation:
Parking is available at the South Street carpark, then a shuttle bus is taken to the ground from Alexandra Street (next to beach).


Tennis
Australian open

1905 saw the first Australasian Tennis Championships. They were held at the Warehouseman's Cricket Ground in St Kilda Road, Melbourne, and it was here that they were to be played for good. The championship was originally organised by the (LTAA) Lawn Tennis Association of Australia, which was to be renamed to Tennis Australia. After a break for the First World War, women's singles were added in 1922 and, five years later in 1927, the competition’s name became the Australian Championships.

Various Australian states hosted the championships for more than half a century and with the arrival of the sixties, and following on from the great Lew Hoade of the 50’s, came a golden age for Australian tennis with Rod Laver, Roy Emerson and Margaret Court (nee Smith) winning sixteen of a possible total of twenty men's and women's title s between them. Court went on to win eleven Australian titles in all.

Other great Australian players around this time were John Newcombe, Tony Roche, Ken Rosewall and Evonne Cawley (nee Goolagong) who became the first aborigine player to win a grand slam event by winning the Wimbledon Championship in 1971. She was a member of the Wiradjuri people.

In 1969 the era of the Open was born and with this came it’s new name, the Australian Open. In 1972, the powers that be decided that the Australian Open deserved a permanent home, and Melbourne, the city that had attracted the greatest patronage over the years, was given that honour and the competition stayed at Kooyong Lawn Tennis Club for the next sixteen years.

The tournament had, traditionally, always been held in January but in 1977 it was moved to December resulting in there being two championship tournaments that year. However, ten years later, in 1987 the event was moved back to January, meaning that 1986 had no tournament at all.

In the 1980's the event had become so big that Kooyong was no longer big enough and so the government built the Flinders Park, a multi-purpose stadium, which first hosted the Open championships in 1988. The eighties saw players from Europe dominate in the men's event with Czech player Ivan Lendl and Swedes Mats Wilander and Stefan Edberg making the biggest impression whereas in the ladies' game crowds witnessed an intense rivalry and thrilling clashes between Czech Martina Navratilova and American Chris Evert who won three and two titles each respectively.

1996 saw the expansion of the venue which was renamed Melbourne Park. In the early nineties it was the Americans who began to dominate in both the men’s and ladies competitions with seven titles shared between Jim Courier, Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi in the men’s and with Monica Seles, Lindsay Davenport and Jennifer Capriati lifting the trophy in the ladies before Swiss player Martina Hingis won 3 consecutive titles from 1997. The centre court was christened The Rod Laver Arena in honour of Australia's tennis hero in 2000. Since then the championships have been dominated mainly by Swiss Roger Federer in the men’s and American Serena Williams in the ladies.