A to Z of Brisbane

26 reasons to remember Test matches at the Gabba, where India take on Australia in Game 3 of the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy

A for Alderman. Lord Mayor did a remarkable job in readying the Gabba pitch for the 1974-75 Ashes opener after a tropical storm hit Brisbane. Alderman Clem Jones was hailed as a miracle man.

B for Bucknor. Steve was guilty of a howler when he adjudged Sachin Tendulkar LBW despite replays showing the ball was clearly going over stumps off Jason Gillespie in 2003-04. The Indian icon endured a three-ball duck.

C for Craig. Queenslander McDermott tore India apart when he got a fifer and followed it up with 4-47 in the second innings. In eight Tests at the Gabba, he collected 40 wickets.

D for debutants. Australia fielded as many as six first-timers in the 1977-78 Test v India — David Ogilvie, Tony Mann, Paul Hibbert, Peter Toohey, Steve Rixon and Wayne Clark.

E for England. Australia’s oldest Test match rivals, have not won a Test at Brisbane since 1986-87. They have lost seven of their nine Tests at the Gabba since then.

F for Frank. The captain of West Indies during the Tied Test in 1960-61. Worrell emphasised on calmness in his team to ensure his team didn’t end up losing the game.

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G for Ganguly: A fine hundred by skipper Sourav in the opening Test of the 2003-04 series contributed to a rare occurrence of India not losing the first Test of a series in Australia.

H for Hussain. England’s 2002-03 captain at Brisbane won the toss and sent Australia in. The result: The hosts scored 492 and Nasser had to cop massive criticism.
I for Irani. The only Indian wicketkeeper who batted at No. 11  in Tests at Brisbane. Jamshed was not renowned for his additional batting skills. In 22 first-class games, his best effort was 46.

J for Jaisimha. Sent in as a replacement for the injured BS Chandrasekhar, ML carved an attractive hundred in 1967-68 in a highly competitive Test. His ton 
left the Australian public wondering why was he not picked in the first place.

K for Kepler. The South African played for Queensland before qualifying Australia. And where does Wessels get a hundred on Test debut? At the Gabba in 1982-83.

L for Labuschagne. A home Test coming up for Marnus. And he’s hungry for runs. A century in the 2020-21 Test against India at the Gabba will give him the confidence to come good.

M for Manoj. Very nearly India’s top-scorer in both innings amidst  ruins in the 1991-92 Test. His unbeaten 54 in the first innings was followed by 39. Only Ravi Shastri’s second innings 41 was better than No. 8 batsman Prabhakar’s score.

N for none. Pakistan have no Test victory to show at Brisbane in six attempts. They lost five (in 1981-82, 1995-96, 1999-2000, 2016-17 and 2019-20). The drawn game was in 1983-84.

O for Ogilvie. The 1977-78 Gabba Test debutant earned his selection with 464 runs in three games for Queensland. David, a biology teacher, scored an invaluable 46 in Australia’s second innings.

P for Pant. The Australians can’t be faulted for fearing him considering the way he batted India to an amazing win in the 2020-21 Test. His unbeaten 89 made it possible.

Q for quirky. Gul Mohamed and Hemu Adhikari, India’s No. 3 and No. 4 batsmen in the 1947-48 Test, were both dismissed for 13 in India’s second innings.

R for Ravi. The man whose inputs paved the way for India’s unbelievable 2020-21 victory as head coach at the Gabba. Shastri will be hoping for a repeat.

S for Surti. The Indian all-rounder, who did well in the 1967-68 Test, ended up playing for Queensland and thus Brisbane was his home ground in Sheffield Shield cricket.

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T for Toshack. He was part of Don Bradman’s attack which took on India in the 1947-48 Test. Ernest could bowl pace and spin. His 11 wickets sent India crashing to their first defeat of the 0-4 series loss.

U for Umpires. The two umpires at the Brisbane Tied Test of 1960-61 shared a common first name. Colin Egar and Colin Hoy supervised the memorable result. Egar stood as Wes Hall bowled the final over while Hoy declared Ian Meckiff run out for Test cricket’s first tie.

V for Vengsarkar. Mumbai-based Dilip opened the batting with Sunil Gavaskar at Brisbane in 1977-78, worked his way to 48 and was out hit wicket as his cap fell on the stumps while negotiating a Jeff Thomson delivery.

W for Woolloongabba. The Gabba gets its name from this southern suburb in Brisbane. “A swampy parkland” as described in the Oxford Companion to Australian Cricket, this area was developed into a cricket ground.

X for X-factor. Scott Boland, who bowled well enough in Adelaide for Australia not to miss Josh Hazlewood greatly.

Y for Yallop. Victoria’s Graham kicked off his Test captaincy with a second innings century against England in the 1978-79 Test. However, Australia lost the series 1-5.

Z for Zaheer. India’s left-arm quick bagged a fifer in his first Test bowling stint on Australian soil. In the 2003-04 Gabba Test, Khan’s 5-95 helped restrict the hosts to 323. However, he missed the next Test through injury.

mid-day’s group sports editor Clayton Murzello is a purist with an open stance. He tweets @ClaytonMurzello 
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