The Sydney Cricket Ground has witnessed a host of Australian cricket’s greatest moments and the tradition is set to continue when Australia plays South Africa in the third 3 Mobile Test Match commencing on January 3.
In recent years the SCG has been the venue for a series of Test Match cricket milestones, notably;
6 January 1984
Greg Chappell, Dennis Lillee and Rod Marsh all finished their Test Match careers in the Fifth Test against Pakistan.
3 January 1993
Allan Border scored his 10,000th run in Test Cricket in the Third Test Match against the West Indies.
5 January 1998
Shane Warne dismissed Jacques Kallis in the Second Test Match against South Africa to claim his 300th wicket in Test Match cricket.
2 January 1999
England’s fast bowler, Darren Gough, took the first ‘Ashes’ hat-trick for England last century in the Fifth Test against Australia when he dismissed Ian Healy, Stuart MacGill and Colin Miller.
2-5 January 2000
Australia
completed a 3-0 clean sweep of the Test series against India. Justin Langer made his highest Test score, becoming the 30th Australian to score a double century. The match was Mark Waugh’s 100th Test Match.
2-6 January 2001
Australia
won its 15th Test Match in a row and secured a 5-0 clean sweep against the West Indies.
2-6 January 2002
Australia
completed its first “whitewash” against South Africa in 70 years by winning the Fifth Test at the SCG, a game in which Shane Warne celebrated his 10th anniversary in Test cricket. The opening day of the Test was shrouded in a heavy smoke haze from local bushfires.
2-6 January 2003
Australian skipper, Steve Waugh, overcame intense speculation about his future in the Australian Test team by completing a brilliant century from the final ball of play on day two of the Ashes Test. Waugh’s century was his 29th in Tests, equalling the Australian record of Sir Donald Bradman. Waugh became only the third player to score 10,000 runs in Tests when he reached 69 runs in that innings. The match was Steve Waugh’s 156th Test Match, equalling the world record of Allan Border. Total attendance for the Test was 181,778. For the first time ever, the first three days of a Test at the SCG were completely sold out.
2-6 January 2004
Australia
v India in the Fourth Test – Steve Waugh’s final match in international cricket commenced amid an emotional avalanche of support from his home-town fans. The first three days of the match were sold out in advance.
A record crowd of 189,989 attended the Test match over the five days. This made the Sydney Test:
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the highest attended Test Match in Australia during 2003/04
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the highest five day Test Match attendance in the history of the SCG*
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the highest day four attendance at a Test Match in the history of the SCG.
* The 1946-47 Test match against England with 195,253 in attendance was a six day Test.
14-19
October 2005
The SCG hosts the six day Johnnie Walker SuperTest between Australia and the World XI, with Australia winning by 210 runs. Matthew Hayden scored 111 and Adam Gilchrist 94 in Australia’s first innings of 345. The World XI was dismissed for 190 and 144 with leg spinner, Stuart McGill claiming match figures of 9-82.
2-6 January 2006
Ricky Ponting scores centuries in each innings in his 100th Test match as Australia breaks a 107-year old record for the highest winning fourth innings score at the SCG when beating South Africa by eight wickets. Ponting’s twin centuries sees him become the first player to score five Test centuries at the SCG and he becomes the highest run scorer at the SCG passing Allan Border, Greg Chappell, David Boon and Steve Waugh.
2-6 January 2007
The Australian cricket team created history and bid Test farewell to Glenn McGrath, Shane Warne and Justin Langer during the fifth Ashes Test with England. Australia’s 10-wicket win completed a 5-0 series victory and became the first team in 86 years to complete an Ashes series whitewash. McGrath captured a wicket with his final ball in Test cricket and a month later captured a wicket with his final ball in One Day International matches played in Australia.
3-7 January 2008
Michael Clarke claimed three wickets in five balls of the penultimate over of the match to clinch Australia a dramatic 122-run second Test victory against India and a record-equalling 16th straight Test win. Earlier, VVS Laxman, Sachin Tendulkar, Andrew Symonds, Matthew Hayden and Michael Hussey had each scored memorable Test centuries in one of cricket’s highest run scoring Tests. The Test also marked the last at the SCG for the retiring Adam Gilchrist, who celebrated his 400th dismissal on day three.
3-7 January, 2009
Australia
clinched another thrilling, nail-biting victory with minutes to spare when Mitchell Johnson bowled a gallant South African captain, Graeme Smith. Smith batted defiantly with a broken hand in an attempt to steer the Proteas to a draw. Australia’s victory was set up by Michael Clarke’s innings if 138, his first SCG Test century. Paceman Peter Siddle bowled superbly in South Africa’s first innings capturing 5-59 before taking a further three second innings wickets to claim Man Of The Match honours.