..Pilgrimage to Melbourne Cricket Ground..

For any cricket enthusiast –player, spectator, cricket official and organizer watching cricket matches live at prolific cricket grounds like Lords, Eden Gardens and Melbourne Cricket Ground even once in a life time is like a pilgrimage of devoted Muslim to Makkah. Nothing can be more fulfilling if watching cricket in all three historic grounds happens to Bangladeshi cricket fan. Being a member of ordinary middle class family it would have sounded a high ambition when we thought of living and watching cricket at MCG and Tennis at Rod Laver Arena every year. But circumstances alter cases. We do not write our destiny. It is divine blessings that opportunity came our way.

My dearest friend Dr Maung Kyaw Sein now teaching IT at a Norwegian University after visiting Lords in 1980 wrote in Sports world “Pilgrimage to Lords.” As an Energy Professional after visiting PETRONAS in 2002 I wrote “Pilgrimage to PETRONAS “in Energy & Power Magazine. Now it is my turn again of writing “Pilgrimage to MCG”. It is pilgrimage all right but it is more of an annual event for us Melbournians now.

In 1986 while on training in England had opportunity to visit Lords and watch a county match, in 2002 we had opportunity to watch a cricket match at Eden Gardens. As cricket, cricket organizers and cricket writer I had a hidden desire to watch proper cricket in MCG and Tennis at Rod Laver Avenue Melbourne.

My father and elder brother always provided us the opportunity of watching test matches at Dhaka Stadium in 1960s. My father bought me a transistor in 1962 acknowledging my keenness of listening to running commentary of cricket from BBC and ABC. I can still remember the expression of Pakistani Leg Spinner getting wicket from the very first ball he bowled in test cricket. I can also remember Pakistani Great Hanif Mohammad scoring centuries in either innings of a test match. So far I can remember Pakistan lost to Australia the test it played against Australia at Dhaka.

In 1998 Mini World Cup Cricket at Dhaka assembled all test playing teams at Dhaka. My son Shafayet Avro had opportunity to meet his idols Shane Warne and other leading Australian players when he joined me in the ICC seminar at Hotel Sonargaon Pan Pacific. He was then only a boy of ten.He had the courage to ask Shane how he can bowl like him. Shane replied you grow up and come to Melbourne. Avro made a motto in his life to migrate and live in Melbourne.

Generosity of Australian Company McConnell Dowell and graciousness of Australian Government in letting me skilled migration immediately after involuntary dissociation from Bangladesh in August 2005 came to us as a blessing through adopting Australian Citizenship. My wife Rozy, Sons Shuvro and Avro already developed fascination for Australia from visits of many of my Australian friends Mark Barrows, Jeff Shefered and others in our residence since 1993. Though I had choice to work in Qatar and Abu Dhavi yet under persistence of my family migrated to Australia. That came a long way in fulfilling the long cherished dream of all of us of watching cricket life at MCG at least once on the Boxing Day. We are now Australian and live permanently at Melbourne, the best livable city of the world.

Melbourne Cricket Ground:

The Melbourne Cricket Ground is regarded as Australia’s premier sporting venue. For over one hundred years, it has played host to many of the country’s biggest cricket and Australian Rules Football matches, and many other significant sporting contests besides. It was, in fact, even the centrepiece of the Olympic Games of 1956. The ‘G (as it is affectionately known by the people of Melbourne) is located a short distance to the east of the city’s CBD and is easily accessible by both public transport and by foot; it is common, for example, for business people to walk to the arena after work to watch the second session of day-night cricket internationals. Prior to a series of developments in the 1980s and 1990s, it possessed a capacity of around 125,000; since that time, the extension of individual seating to virtually all of its reaches has reduced that figure to somewhere closer to 97,000. In short, it is an imposing stadium: the three-tiered Great Southern Stand (completed in 1992) bounds the perimeter of one half of the ground and holds close to 50,000 people; there are also vast banks of seating in the Ponsford Stand, Olympic Stand and Members’ Reserve. It is also replete with a Gallery of Sport, two giant electronic scoreboards, and a vast array of corporate and media facilities.

Notwithstanding the fact that various curators drew fire from players and spectators alike for producing a succession of wearing, low bouncing surfaces through the 1980s and early 1990s, pitches at the MCG have, for most of its history, generally facilitated well balanced contests between bat and ball. No better has this been exemplified than in famous matches in its recent past such as the 1982-83 Tests between Australia and England; the thrilling Australia-New Zealand decider in 1987-88; and the 1992 World Cup Final between Pakistan and England.

Our Experience of MCG

Shafayet Avro was first to join me in Melbourne in July 2006 .An eighteen years old teenager coming to Australia for the first time in his life was quick to settle down .He used to bowl leg spin and googlie and bat aggressively .Somehow he managed to become member of MCG through developing links with cricket Australia and playing for our suburban cricket team and his school. He took us to a visit of MCG in 2007 and we had our dreams come true from a guided tour of MCG and Rod Laver arena. I had to work in Queensland for three years from end 2006 till early 2009 .I did not have opportunity to watch Cricket at MCG though I watched Ashes test between Australia and England at Woolloongabba in Brisbane and Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) in Sydney. The first real opportunity of watching cricket at MCG came on the Boxing Day test between Australia and Pakistan in 2010. Since then I have never missed any opportunity of watching cricket at MCG if I happen to be at Melbourne during the matches. From 2010 till now we have seen matches of South Africa,India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and India at MCG.

Watching cricket at MCG on Boxing Day with almost 100,000 cricket fans in a very festive environment is such a great fun that I really have little Words to pen picture correctly. The entire stadium reverberates with every ball and every stroke played and every wicket fall. The crowd is very knowledgeable and very appreciative. Mexican wave is some that fascinates all. Watching Ashes at MCG is another interesting event as Barmy Army always proves equal to Aussie fans anywhere in Australia. Sri Lankans at MCG always make it very musical as band playing and dancing on the isles give it a very festive look.

This year we are eagerly awaiting for the arrival of South Africa and India as they are the tourists in Australia before the all-important ICC World Cup 2015 when my native country Bangladesh and my another favorite country Afghanistan will appear .MCG will host few matches and the most important of all the finals . Bangladesh will play Sri Lanka at MCG .Bangladeshi Australians and Bangladeshi students studying in Australia are eagerly awaiting for it.

This write up will remain incomplete if we do not write a paragraph on Boxing Day test.

The Boxing Day Test match is a cricketTest match hosted in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia involving the Australian cricket team and an opposing national team which is touring Australia that summer. It begins annually on Boxing Day (26 December) and is played at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

By long tradition the Victoria–New South WalesSheffield Shield match included Boxing Day at the MCG as one of the scheduled days of play, much to the chagrin of the NSW players who missed Christmas with their families as a result. In the 1950–51 Ashes series the Melbourne Test was held on the 22–27 December, with the third day’s play being on Boxing Day, but no Boxing Day Tests were played in Melbourne between 1953 and 1967. As there were six Tests in the 1974–75 Ashes series to fit them all in the Third Test at Melbourne was scheduled to start on Boxing Day, beginning the modern tradition. In 1980 the Melbourne Cricket Club and the Australian cricket team secured the rights to play the match annually.

Boxing Day Tests Elsewhere:

In New Zealand an annual Boxing Day Test Match was played at Basin Reserve in Wellington, involving the New Zealand cricket team as one of the competing sides. Over the past few years the Boxing Day Test has been phased out for a One Day International and Twenty20 matches involving New Zealand and the touring opposition national team.

In South Africa a Boxing Day Test is often played if another national team is touring to play the South African cricket team. It is traditionally played at Sahara Stadium Kingsmead, Durban.

Melbourne is Our Home:

Now Melbourne is our home .From our place in Melbourne MCG is only half and hours’ drive of 35 minutes train journey .We go to Richmond station and walk to MCG. I have to transfer at Richmond for going to Monash University Caulfield for my professional works. So MCG is always with in my sight. Pilgrimage to MCG is on our annual calendar.One can spend a few hours around MCG having photographs alongside the statues of Iconic players like Sir Donald Bradman, Deniss Keith Lillee, Ray Lindwall, Keith Miller and some leading Australian Rules Footballers. One can spend two hours visiting the prolific Sports Museum. People residing on the other side of Melbourne can take a train to reach Jollimont Station and walk to MCG. After MCG tour one can walk to Iconic Rod Laver Avenue and spend an hour or so. We strongly recommend to any visitor coming to Melbourne to spend at least half a day in and around MCG.One can go back with so much memory to treasure.

Next February March another dream of watching Bangladesh play at MCG will come true if almighty keeps me alive.