Adelaide Oval - History

History

• The ground was established in 1871 after the formation of SACA.
• The first century (102 not out for North Adelaide against the Kent Club) was scored by John Hill on 30 January 1878. John was the father of the great Clem Hill.
• The first Test match was played at the Oval from 12–16 December 1884. England beat Australia by eight wickets. (Scorecard)
• The first football game lit by electric light was conducted on the evening of 1 July 1885.
• In 1894–95 Albert Trott collected 8/43 on debut against England, the best ever single-innings Test match figures at the ground.
• The picket fence was put up surrounding the Oval (then with a cycling track) in 1900.
• From 5–12 August 1911 the Australian Football Council Carnival was played at the ground, won by South Australia. The competing sides were SA, VFL, VFA, Western Australia, Tasmania and New South Wales.
• The Adelaide Oval scoreboard, designed by architect Kenneth Milne, began service on 3 November 1911. The clock was added in 1912 and the windvane in the 1930s.
• In 1931–32 Donald Bradman scored the highest score ever at the ground in Test Cricket, compiling 299* against South Africa. In the same game, Clarrie Grimmett collected fourteen wickets, the most ever taken in a Test match at the ground by a bowler.
• In 1932–33, the Bodyline affair reached its lowest point at the ground when Bill Woodfull and Bert Oldfield were struck, and on the third day mounted police patrolled to keep the 50,962 spectators in order (a record crowd for cricket at the ground). The total attendance for the match was 174,351.
• In 1946–47, Arthur Morris of Australia, and Denis Compton of England both made centuries in both innings of the Test.
• In 1947–48 Australia scored 674 against India, the highest team total at the ground in Test matches.
• Considered by some to be the best Test Match ever competed at the ground, Australia played the West Indies in the fourth test of the Frank Worrell Trophy, 1960–61. The match ended in a draw, with the West Indies unable to take the final wicket of the fourth innings, as the last batsmen Ken Mackay and Lindsay Kline held out for 109 minutes. West Indies bowler Lance Gibbs took the only ever Test cricket hat trick at the ground in Australia's first innings. (Scorecard)
• Ken Barrington's favourite ground was the Adelaide Oval, where he scored 104, 52, 52 not out, 63, and 132 not out in 1962-63 and 69, 51, 63, 60 and 102 in 1965-66, a total of 748 runs (93.50).
• A record attendance of 62,543 people was recorded for the 1965 SANFL Grand Final between Port Adelaide and Sturt.
• In 1975–76 the first One-Day International match was played at the ground between Australia and West Indies (40-over match), which Australia won by 5 wickets. (Scorecard)
• In 1978, the ground hosted the first concert by David Bowie in the Southern Hemisphere. It was also the first large scale outdoor concert he had ever played.
• In October 1982, vs Victoria, David Hookes hit a 43 minute, 34 ball century - in some respects the fastest hundred in history. (Statistics)

• In 1989–90 Dean Jones scored twin Test hundreds against Pakistan.
• South Australia compiled the highest fourth innings winning total in Sheffield Shield history, reaching 6/506 (set 506 to win) against Queensland in 1991–92.
• In 1992–93 the West Indies defeated Australia by one run in the fourth test of the Frank Worrell Trophy, when a bouncer by Courtney Walsh brushed Craig McDermott's glove to end a 40-run last-wicket partnership. It was the narrowest victory ever in Test cricket. Curtly Ambrose picked up ten wickets in the game. (Scorecard)
• Lights were constructed at the ground in 1997, allowing sport to be held at night. This was the subject of a lengthy dispute with the Adelaide City Council, due to environmental issues relating to the parklands area. The first towers erected were designed to retract into the ground; however one collapsed and they were replaced with permanent towers. The first cricket match under lights was a One Day International between South Africa and New Zealand on 6 December 1997. (Scorecard)
• In 1999, Sri Lankan spinner Muttiah Muralitharan was called for throwing by umpire Ross Emerson in a One Day International against England. The Sri Lankan team almost abandoned the match, but after instructions from the president of the Sri Lankan cricket board (relayed to captain Arjuna Ranatunga by mobile phone) the game resumed.
• In 2003, two matches of the Rugby World Cup were played at Adelaide Oval, with Australia thrashing Namibia 142-0 and a thriller of an encounter between Ireland and Argentina which Ireland edged by a single point.
• In December 2003 the highest day-score was compiled at the Adelaide Oval, by Australia against India, with the home side finishing at 5/400 at stumps.
• In November 2005 Brian Lara broke Allan Border's world record for the most Test runs before eventually being dismissed for 226.
• During the 2006/2007 Ashes series, many temporary stands were erected to cope with the demand for tickets. Stands were put between the Chappell stands and on the top of the hills. Australia beat England by 6 wickets on a remarkable last day. (Scorecard)
• In late 2010, the Western Grandstand with a seating capacity of 14,000, was completed.