The Gabba

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The Gabba
(Brisbane Cricket Ground)

Australia
Ground information
Location Woolloongabba, Brisbane, Queensland
Establishment 1895
Seating capacity 42,000
Owner Queensland Government
Operator Major Sports Facilities Authority
Tenants Queensland Bulls (cricket)
Brisbane Lions (AFL)
End names Stanley Street End
Vulture Street End
International information
First Test 27 November 1931: Australia v South Africa
Last Test 8 November 2007: Australia v Sri Lanka
First ODI 23 December 1979: England v West Indies
Last ODI 4 March 2008: Australia v India
Domestic team information
Years Team
1896 – present Queensland Bulls
1997 – present Brisbane Lions

As of 5 March 2008
Source: CricketArchive

The Gabba is a major sports stadium in the Queensland capital of Brisbane. It is named after the suburb of Woolloongabba in which it is located in.

The land on which the ground sits was first set aside for use as a cricket ground in 1895. The first cricket match was held on the site on 19 December 1896 between Parliament and The Press. The Gabba was not used for interstate or international cricket until 1931. The first Sheffield Shield match scheduled for The Gabba was to be played between 31 January 1931 and 4 February 1931, however it was washed out without the captains even bothering to toss a coin. The first cricket Test match at The Gabba was played Australia and South Africa between 27 November and 3 December 1931.

Over the years The Gabba has hosted athletics, Australian rules football, baseball, concerts, cricket, cycling, rugby league, rugby union, soccer and pony and greyhound races.

Between 1993 and 2005 The Gabba was redeveloped in six stages at a cost of $128,000,000 AUD. The dimensions of the playing field are now 170.6 metres (east-west) by 149.9 metres (north-south). The seating capacity of the ground is now 42,000. In its appearance the Gabba now almost resembles a mini Melbourne Cricket Ground complete with light towers and a gigantic modern grandstand ringing the ground providing an intimidating and noisy atmosphere for visiting teams.

Contents

[edit] Sports played at The Gabba

[edit] Cricket

From October to March The Gabba is used for cricket and is home to the Queensland Cricket Association, Queensland Cricketers Club and the Queensland Bulls cricket team. The venue usually hosts the first Test match of the season each November, in addition to a number of international one-day matches usually held in January.

Test cricket was first played at the ground in November 1931, the first Test of the series between Australia and South Africa. In December 1960, Test cricket's first-ever Tied Test took place at the ground when Richie Benaud's Australian team tied with Frank Worrell's West Indian side. Queensland clinched its first-ever Sheffield Shield title with victory over South Australia in the final at the ground in March 1995.

A record crowd for any cricket match of 39,874 flocked to the Gabba on January 15, 2006 to see Australia play South Africa in the second game of the triangular VB Series.

The Gabba was the first Australian venue to host an International Twenty20 cricket match.

A grandstand at the The Gabba in 1907
A grandstand at the The Gabba in 1907

[edit] Australian Rules Football

Australian Football Premiership Finals, at The Gabba, 1907.
Australian Football Premiership Finals, at The Gabba, 1907.

Since 1993 The Gabba has been the home ground for the Brisbane Bears (to 1996) and (from 1997) Brisbane Lions AFL teams. The record crowd for an Australian rules football match is 37,224 between the Brisbane Lions and Collingwood.

Australian football has a long association with the ground. The Queensland Football League (a precursor to AFL Queensland) played matches at The Gabba from 1905 to 1914, 1959 to 1971, and in the late 1970s and early 1980s. AFLQ matches resumed in 1993 as curtain-raiser events to AFL games, along with occasional AFLQ Grand Finals.

Interstate games, including the 1961 national carnival have also been played there, as was a demonstration game during the 1982 Commonwealth Games. In 1991 the Gabba was host to Queensland's only victory over a Victorian side.

[edit] Football (Soccer)

During the 1950s and 1960s The Gabba hosted soccer matches for English first division clubs including Blackpool FC, Everton FC and Manchester United. The Chinese and South African national teams also played at the ground. During the 2000 Olympic Games The Gabba hosted Association Football group games.

[edit] Rugby League

From 1932 to 1959 The Gabba was used to host rugby league games, including interstate and international matches. Rugby league still holds the ground attendance records for this venue, after 47,096 people attended the Great Britain versus Australia Test on 3 July 1954. Rugby League and association football are now regularly played at Suncorp Stadium, which has a rectangular pitch and over 50,000 seating capacity.

[edit] Rugby Union

The Gabba has hosted six rugby union Test matches.

The Queensland Bulls at the "nursery" pitch
The Queensland Bulls at the "nursery" pitch
Year Result Crowd
1907 Australia lost to New Zealand 14-5 TBA
1914 Australia lost to New Zealand 17-0 TBA
1950 Australia lost to the British and Irish Lions 19-6 TBA
1951 Australia lost to New Zealand 16-6 TBA
2001 Australia lost to the British and Irish Lions 29-13 37,460
2002 Australia beat South Africa 38-27 37,258

[edit] Facts

Day 2 of the First Test of the 2006-07 Ashes series — Australia versus England — at the The Gabba
Day 2 of the First Test of the 2006-07 Ashes series — Australia versus England — at the
The Gabba
  • Sir Donald Bradman holds the record for the highest individual test innings at the ground of 226 against South Africa in 1931.
  • The ground where Australia and the West Indies fought out the first of only two tied test matches in Test cricket history.
  • Brett Lee is the only cricketer to hit a 6 out of the (redeveloped) ground, achieving the feat in a match on November 15, 2005.
  • Australia has not lost a cricket test match at the Gabba since the 1988/89 season - a streak of 17 matches and counting.

[edit] References

References used in this article include:

Cricket Portal

[edit] External links

Coordinates: 27°29′9.04″S, 153°2′17.17″E

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