Now for a change of coffin and perhaps a change of fortune (13 December 1998)
THE arrival of my family in Adelaide could not have come at a better time
13-Dec-1998
13 December 1998
Now for a change of coffin and perhaps a change of fortune
By Angus Fraser
THE arrival of my family in Adelaide could not have come at a
better time. Seeing my children again has helped take away some
of the disappointment of being overlooked once again. The
previous week, however, will have done no harm to BT's share
price. My room was a constant source of apprehensive and
sometimes irate phone calls from my wife.
In my current mood, I must admit I have been as much use as an
ashtray on a motor bike but I tell her there is a limit to how
much I can do when I am here on the other side of the world. At
each of the hotels we have stayed I have felt like an S A S
soldier doing reconnaissance, checking for facilities available
to the children such as swimming pools, local adventure
playgrounds and cafes, which needless to say are excellent
everywhere we go.
"Do I need this, do I need that", are the inevitable questions,
to which the easiest reply is: "Well if you need it we'll buy it
here." My credit card has already taken some stick and the next
month looks like being expensive.
My only requirement, well nearly only, was she brought over my
cricket coffin from this summer and last winter's tour of the
West Indies. Like Messrs Atherton, Stewart, Ramprakash and
Butcher, I will return to one that brings back happier memories
as the current one doesn't seem to be bringing me a great deal of
fortune. Not that I'm superstitious, of course.
This is my fourth visit to these shore and still one of the first
things that strikes you when you land in Australia is how
different the attitude of it's people are. In their national
anthem, Advance Australia Fair, they sing about being young and
free and to be fair that is the attitude that comes across to me.
Each time I come here it always hits me how uninhibited,
generally polite (except at cricket matches) and fresh the people
are. They are confident and proud of their achievements,
particularly in the world of sport which is a vehicle they use to
promote the profile of their country.
Their sportsmen or women are treated like superstars and
generally receive unflagging support from their media. Even this
week's controversies surrounding Mark Waugh and Shane Warne have
received some sympathetic coverage. Somehow, I can't imagine our
British press being quite as understanding. I must say seeing the
Australians have their halo dented has caused a few chuckles in
our dressing room. Overall, though, you get the feeling that if
you work hard here and want success there are very few obstacles
to stop you reaching your goals.
Another thing you are immediately aware of is space. Australia is
a vast country and flying from Brisbane to Perth you travel the
little matter of 4,500 kilometres, the equivalent of travelling
from London to the Middle East, at least a five-hour flight.
Western Australia is the state we have spent most of our time in
so far. The locals tend to treat Perth as some sort of Utopia,
the place where everyone should want to live. Indeed, it is a
beautifully clean city, a perfect place to bring up a young
family. It seems to be a relatively cheap place to live with a
high standard of living and full of wonderful views along the
Swan River. There are golden beaches and spotless parks full of
manufactured gardens, ponds and fountains, but to me it is all a
bit cosmetic, maybe slightly boring and characterless.
In our travels we have also had the pleasure of visiting
Queensland, the sunshine coast, where thankfully it rains rather
heavily every now and then. Brisbane is a busy city seemingly
full of life and money (Japanese) and Cairns a tropical town
which in places reminds you of Georgetown, Guyana, in the way the
streets are laid out and the houses are on stilts. If it wasn't
for the Great Barrier Reef, though, I could not imagine living
there - unless, of course, you wanted some free cosmetic surgery
- as it is so hot and humid.
Our brief visit to Melbourne even allowed me to get in a game of
cricket. Rattling around the M C G in front of two men and a dog
it seems hard to believe there will be over 75,000 in there on
Boxing Day for what is scheduled to be Shane Warne's eagerly
awaited comeback Test.
So here we are back in Adelaide, my second favourite city in
Australia after Sydney, sadly a place where we spend precious
little time on this tour. The Adelaide Oval is a magnificent
place to play cricket. It just has a lovely feel to it, even if
it is considered to be a bowler's graveyard. Friday's play did
nothing to change that view as temperatures comfortably passed
42C (110F).
Bowling in this heat is unbelievably debilitating and the sights
in our dressing room at the close of play weren't pretty as the
bowlers cramped up. Nor does looking at the honours board in the
dressing room give you much encouragement as it tells you
virtually twice as many hundreds are scored here than five-wicket
hauls taken. On days like Friday, you can understand why.
The city has a similar feel to it as the ground, being
beautifully laid out and containing some wonderful restaurants
with magnificent wine lists. They say where there is good wine,
there is good food and as I haven't got the opportunity to get on
that honours board, I may just make sure my family and I enjoy
the other pleasures Adelaide has to offer.
Source :: Electronic Telegraph (https://www.telegraph.co.uk)