More than 20,000 New Zealand fans are expected to throng the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) tomorrow to watch their side play their first Test at the iconic venue since 1987 when they face Australia in the second match of the three-game series.
Cricket Australia last week said that more than 16,000 tickets had been sold to New Zealand fans based in Australia, while airlines have put on extra flights to ferry the thousands of fans across the Tasman Sea for the fixture.
Such has been the interest, officials were projecting a crowd in excess of 78,000 on the opening day of the traditional Boxing Day fixture, the largest attendance at the ground for a non-Ashes Test.
The significance of the clash lies not just in that Australia could clinch the series with a victory after winning the first Test in Perth last week by 296 runs, former New Zealand wicketkeeper Ian Smith said.
The match shows Australia now recognize that their neighbors are worthy of playing high-profile Tests such as the Boxing Day fixture in Melbourne and the New Year’s match in Sydney, which attract massive holiday crowds, he said.
“We’ve toured here, but we seem to play the curtain-raiser, not the main event,” Smith told Australia’s Fox Sports.
New Zealand have played 20 Tests in Australia since 1987, none of which have been in the biggest cities of Melbourne and Sydney.
“I think the All Blacks have probably played at the MCG more often than the New Zealand cricket side in the last 30 years and I think they’re playing there next year,” Smith said.
“That’s the irony of it, that the rugby side have played here more than the cricket side. It’s just wrong,” he said.
Despite the heavy defeat in Perth, New Zealand enter the match with optimism given that they are likely to have pace spearhead Trent Boult back after recovering from a muscle injury.
The 30-year-old would be a straight swap for the injured Lockie Ferguson and would bolster New Zealand’s pace attack.
Tom Blundell has already been confirmed as a replacement for out-of-form opening batsman Jeet Raval.
Australia paceman James Pattinson comes in for the injured Josh Hazlewood, while coach Justin Langer has mooted the idea of taking five specialist bowlers into the match due to a pitch that has been batsman-friendly.
However, MCG curator Matt Page on Monday said that the wicket, which is not the same as the one used in an abandoned first-class match earlier this month because it was considered dangerous, would be fair to both bat and ball.
Japan’s Shohei Ohtani is the record-breaking baseball “superhuman” following in the footsteps of the legendary Babe Ruth who has also earned comparisons to US sporting greats Michael Jordan and Tom Brady. Not since Ruth a century ago has there been a baseball player capable of both pitching and hitting at the top level. The 30-year-old’s performances with the Los Angeles Dodgers have consolidated his position as a baseball legend in the making, and a national icon in his native Japan. He continues to find new ways to amaze, this year becoming the first player to hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases
More than 180 years of horse racing came to an end in Singapore on Saturday, as the Singapore Turf Club hosted its final race day before its track is handed back to the Singaporean government to provide land for new homes. Under an overcast sky, the air-conditioned VIP boxes were full of enthusiasts, socialites and expats, while the grounds and betting halls below hosted mostly older-generation punters. The sun broke through for the last race, the last-ever Grand Singapore Gold Cup. The winner, South African jockey Muzi Yeni, echoed a feeling of loss shared by many on the day. “I’d
Zhang Shuai yesterday said that she nearly quit after losing 24 matches in a row — now the world No. 595 is into the quarter-finals of her home China Open. The 35-year-old is to face Spain’s Paula Badosa as the lowest-ranked player to reach this stage in the history of the tournament after Badosa reeled off 11 of the last 12 games in a 6-4, 6-0 victory over US Open finalist Jessica Pegula. Zhang went into Beijing on a barren run lasting more than 600 days and her string of singles defeats was the second-longest on the WTA Tour Open era, which
Francesco Bagnaia yesterday profited from a mistake by rookie Pedro Acosta to win the Japan MotoGP sprint and close the gap on overall championship leader, Jorge Martin. Spaniard Acosta crashed with four laps to go while leading the field at Motegi, allowing defending world champion Bagnaia to take first ahead of Enea Bastianini and Marc Marquez. Spain’s Martin finished fourth and saw his overall lead over Italian Bagnaia in the championship standings cut to 15 points. “I am very happy because with these conditions, it’s not very easy to win and gain points,” Bagnaia said after a sprint race that took place under
RSS