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A little day out at the Ryobi Cup

17th October, 2013
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The Ken Irvine Scoreboard at North Sydney Oval - almost as good as Immortality. (Image: Kris Swales).
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17th October, 2013
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No bells. No whistles. No lights. No fans. Welcome to Australian domestic one day cricket, 2014 style.

Not that North Sydney Oval is entirely bereft of spectators as the New South Wales Blues take on the Queensland Bulls on this perfect Sydney spring morning.

A couple of hundred people – elderly gentlemen, young ladies, families, afro-haired hippies, and small gangs of school kids on the hunt for autographs – are sprinkled through the picturesque ground’s vintage grandstands for one of the Ryobi Cup tournament’s grudge matches.

And under the shade of the Duncan Thompson Stand, Australian selector Rod Marsh and recovering quick Ryan Harris are taking it all in with as relaxed a demeanour as those who have handed over their $10 at the gate.

Meanwhile, out in the middle, David Warner is spanking an under-manned Queensland attack around the ground as if he’s playing an unscripted cameo in the previous night’s run-fest over in Jaipur – a high profile, high stakes environment he’d no doubt much rather be batting in.

Take away the coloured clothing on display, and this year’s Ryobi Cup is one day cricket stripped of all its artifice.

Apart from the aforementioned hippy, there’s none of the ‘world’s biggest dress-up party’ sideshow that was attached to last summer’s One Day International series.

Nor are there targets sprinkled around the boundary fence for players to aim at for cash, nor money on offer for spectators who take a catch beyond the beige (or is it off-white?) picket fence.

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Nor are there any beer snakes. In fact, the only bar serving beer is doing so in cans.

What remains is a form of cricket which is supposedly dying, shoehorned into a month-long tournament format that even has some of those involved in it bemused – and, initially, surprised by its very existence.

One hundred overs sent down by a handful of international-calibre players to even better batting line-ups on an oval perfectly sized for 300-plus scores.

Every grunt, groan and behind-the-stumps chirp clearly audible from the stands.

In short, it’s yet another bloody good day to live in Australia.

It helps that the cricket itself is of a high quality.

‘Dead’ one day cricket may well be – hell, after witnessing the Aussies coast home against the Windies at the SCG last summer even I was part of the death-riding brigade – but there’s enough ebb and flow on display today to please both Test match purists and T20 hit-and-gigglers.

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A couple of wickets and some crafty bowling from Nathan Hauritz slow the Warner blitz down to a mere barrage, though he brings up his century off 96 balls with near half the innings still remaining.

And if you think this game is meaningless, Warner’s trademark leaping fist pump to the air as he hits three figures is confirmation that nothing could be further from the truth.

He eventually signs off with 139 off 126 balls, furious with himself on the long walk to the pavilion after drilling one straight to Hauritz at deep mid on.

Nic Maddinson struggles against the wily Hauritz also, but smashes a quickfire (if streaky) 33 with the confidence of a man who’ll probably spend some time in the canary yellow before the summer’s out.

Hauritz’s variation and control to concede just 31 runs off his 10 overs have you wondering why Xavier Doherty scored himself another trip to India after his fruitless March 2013 excursion.

When Nathan Lyon – who, in case you’d forgotten, took nine wickets the last time he had a bowl on the subcontinent – gets his chance under the afternoon bushfire sky, he ups the ante again with a miserly 2-33 off 10 overs of cunning darts.

All the while, the world around them passes by as a swirling wind begins to pick up around the ground.

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A group of teens sheds their shirts and starts heckling the Queenslanders.

An angry man threatens a group of twentysomethings with their own cricket bat for no apparent reason.

Suits stroll in from the nearby business district, high-vis wearers on smoko from local worksites. Ryobi Cup awareness and interest may be low, but it is there.

The stats area of Cricinfo will ultimately show that the Blues were bowled out for 253 in just 43 overs, a total the Bulls overtook with five wickets and 36 balls remaining.

Warner, Hauritz and Lyon may have had their names on the marquee, but impressive cameos also came from James Hopes (4-38 off 7.2, including a hat-trick chance, plus hitting the winning runs in his 100th one-dayer for Queensland) and Chris Lynn (77 off 66).

Top that off with Steve Smith bowling a solitary over of the worst leg breaks you’ll see at this level, and it all makes for a worthwhile day out at North Sydney Oval.

A little day out, but a day out nonetheless.

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Especially if your name is David Warner.

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