SCG (Sydney)

The Sydney Cricket Ground, often referred to as the SCG, is a sports stadium in the Moore Park suburb of the capital of New South Wales, which was first opened in 1851. Over the years, it has staged many sports, with cricket, rugby league, and Australian Rules the most prominent.

Football has also played a part at the iconic venue. In 1923, one of the earliest notable soccer events took place at the SCG as a New South Wales representative team played against the visiting English FA XI. A 3-2 defeat against New Zealand was the men’s first appearance at the ground in the same year.

The SCG hosted matches involving the Czechoslovakian club Bohemians on their Australian tour in 1925. They were presented with a kangaroo as a mascot, which became their club emblem. The Sydney Showground, next door to the SCG, and now Fox Studios, became the main football venue in the city.

Occasional games, usually the ones likely to attract a larger crowd, continued to be played at the SCG, with matches also being played at the Sydney Sports Ground, just north in Moore Park. In 1965, Everton played against an NSW team at the SCG during their Australian tour. Over 26,000 fans attended.

After Australia's debut at the FIFA World Cup in 1974, interest in soccer soared. The SCG was used for international friendlies and high-profile club tours. In 1980, a 2-1 England win against the Socceroos saw 45,000 fans attend, while Australia’s friendly against Northern Ireland was also played there.

England returned for a game in the Trans-Tasman Cup in 1983, in what is likely to have been the last hurrah. The rectangular Sydney Football Stadium opened in 1988 to replace the Sydney Sports Ground, with most matches being played there as well as it becoming home to Sydney FC in the A-League.

The Sydney Football Stadium was demolished in 1998 to be replaced by a new version, which opened in 2022. During the period of redevelopment, the SCG hosted major Sydney FC fixtures, including the derby against Western Sydney Wanderers in May 2021, with a crowd of 17,121 attending.

My visits

Australia v England (Friday 13th December 2002) Australia VB Tri-Nation Series

Friday 13th was an apt date for another England defeat. Despite this, it was a decent game with Australia chasing down the tourists' 251 for the loss of 3 wickets with 5 overs remaining. Nick Knight’s unbeaten century was the match highlight.

I was staying in the Captain Cook Hotel across the junction from Moore Park on what was a scorching day as I nursed a huge hangover. I’d enjoyed so much beer the evening before that I was talked out of getting a Scarborough FC tattoo by some good lads who befriended me.

My seat was upstairs under the sun in the Doug Walters Stand. It was hot. Thankfully, a family sitting by me got their kids to occasionally spray me with water. My head hurt for the second day running the next day as I headed north on a flight to Brisbane.

Australia v England (Thursday 2nd – Monday 6th January 2002) Fifth Test

An incredible five days spent at the SCG and one of my favourite ever matches. Not least because England won by 225 runs. Mark Butcher and Michael Vaughan both scored wonderful centuries while Andy Caddick took 7 wickets in the Aussie second innings. Steve Waugh dramatically equalled Donald Bradman's century total.

So many happy memories with my much-missed mate, Crusher, his cousin Paul, and his son and friend. We travelled to town each day from Helensburgh, had drinks at the Captain Cook and generally had a great time. It was Crusher’s birthday on the final day, adding to it all.

Happy days with Crusher, RIP

The SCG was a wonderful cricket ground back then, with the legendary Hill and the two magnificent pavilions, which should be there for many more years to come, adding tradition. I was lucky enough to meet Derek Underwood on the tour. He said unequivocally that the SCG was his favourite ground.

Australia v England (Tuesday 2nd – Friday 5th January 2007) Fifth Test

The final Test of a real Ashes hammering as the Aussies completed a 5-0 whitewash, winning the game by 10 wickets. There were still plenty of consolations for this tourist to grab hold of, as I went along with a party organised by Middlesex wicket-keeper David Nash.

It was fun and the group were good company. Melbourne had been a capitulation on the pitch but a hoot off it, sometimes a parallelled shambles. Our Sheraton Grand Hotel by Hyde Park in Sydney was superb, as were our seats upstairs in the Brewongle Stand.

The nights out were good too, while the Test also provided some memorable moments, with the legendary Aussie stars, Justin Langer, Glenn McGrath, and Shane Warne all playing their final Test. A second innings collapse did for the tourists, predictably enough.

Australia v England (Tuesday 9th January 2007) T20 International

I was nearing the end of my tour and my tether by the time I got to bed. The day started well enough as I met with John, and we headed to the Captain Cook Hotel. We met the remainder of the Nash family, who had organised the tour

I went with David Snr, as he needed to collect some signed pictures that John Buchanan, the Aussie coach, had got signed for his sons’ benefit year, and he didn’t know where to go, as I remarkably found the right place. I was sitting apart from the rest of the group, but had paid a lot less for a better seat by using the ticket agency in charge.

Cricket Australia had kindly charged the Barmy Army a surcharge for each ticket. The atmosphere was uncouth. KFC sponsored the game and had a group at the front. The leader had a loud hailer to try and “pump up the atmosphere” as we had made far more noise than the Aussies throughout the series, which was a standing joke amongst England fans.

England somehow managed to plummet to new depths and took a proper hiding, losing by 77 runs. I was not happy. The Aussie PR machine did not aid my mood. In England, there is a bit of music played when there’s a 4, 6 or a wicket. In Sydney, the music only stopped when the bowler ran in.

It was noticeably later when England were batting to disrupt any semblance of concentration. If you didn’t like modern dance music, it was murder. I may as well have watched it at a Kings Cross rave. The Aussies hadn’t missed a trick throughout. They had earlier banned the Barmy Army bugler in Brisbane.

They split up all the England fans to minimise volume. The press had been spiteful, and the umpires had bordered on being tapped up. Every time the Aussies scored a boundary, which was a lot, an image came up on the scoreboard saying “Tonked” followed by an image of Matthew Hayden, who was disliked intensely by England players and fans alike, gesturing as to how far the ball went.

It was part of the “Tonk a Pom” campaign sponsored by Ford. On the lesser occasions that England scored a boundary, the scoreboard remained blank. Other witty campaigns included a big electronic board high on a building on the way to the SCG, which constantly changed and gave the number of alleged Pom complaints about Tooheys beer.

Nando's slogan was “Our chickens are like the English. Big, white and plump. The PA man was brash and biased. I longed for Johnny Dennis’s professionalism back at Lord’s.  The players had been poor, but circumstances didn’t help. I avoided the pub after the game and left before the end. I received abuse on the bus back into town instead. It was a CRAP night.