The treatment by Cricket Australia (CA) of the Gabba is bordering on farcical, and is seriously alienating everyone who loves cricket here in Queensland…
This Summer has been pitiful:
- We didn’t host even one of the five games in the ODI series against South Africa
- On top of that, we didn’t get to see Australia play at all in the Tri-Series involving India and England (all we got was one India v England game which was mid-week) while Sydney and Melbourne both got to see Australia play twice, and every other venue in Australia got to see Australia play at least once…yes, even Hobart, which many quite rightly don’t regard as part of Australia)
- Then, for the World Cup, we have to munch on an unpalatable diet of minnows (the only time we get to see Australia is a game against the woeful Bangladesh, while the only other two Gabba World Cup games feature “powerhouses” such as Zimbabwe, UAE and Ireland)
- And of course we don’t get any of the knockout games at the pointy end of the World Cup (QF’s, SF’s or Final) while outposts such as Auckland and Adelaide do
- Furthermore, CA seriously considered abandoning just the Brisbane Test after the Hughes incident
On top of all that, it’s the only cricket ground in Australia were they don’t sell spirits (unless you’re in the Members Section) because they think the spectators are too feral
Furthermore, the security at the ground is so stifling and miserable that they didn’t even let me hang my Phil Hughes banner up during the Test, yet it was allowed at all other grounds in Australia this Summer
Why is a cricket loving girl or boy in Brisbane any less entitled to see their team play than a cricket loving child in Sydney? Even on economic grounds it doesn't make sense, as the Gabba holds just as many people as the SCG
CA sure do everything to turn Queenslanders off cricket…I’m surprised they didn’t veto Joe Burns’ selection in the Test team earlier this Summer