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Heading to the cricket this weekend? Who are you?

How to enjoy the summer of cricket as a fan. (AAP Image/Dave Hunt)
Roar Guru
27th November, 2015
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Starting Friday, the first ever day-night Test match will be held at the Adelaide Oval, a venue which has a loyal patronage, attracting a cross section of the community from all over the state.

The new development has increased the oval’s capacity, but the social element with the hill and hospitality areas behind the members, simply referred to as ‘out the back’, has been retained.

People attend for various reasons, strangely not always for the cricket.

Here is a summary for the uninitiated.

Cricket tragic
The cricket tragic is at the oval before the gates open. They have a specific seat they like to sit in annually. They consider it a sin to miss a ball in a day’s play.

However, they won’t be a big contributor to pay off the recent development, as they BYO everything. Binoculars, cushions, sunscreen, transistor radio, sandwiches and drinks are all in the kit bag. They might allow themselves a light beer at the tea break.

Knowledge of the game is detailed, following the ABC commentary on their radio, picking up any errors in the broadcast. They miss Kerry O’Keefe.

Socialite
The socialite might get there for the first ball. If they do, they would arrange with a tragic they know to hold their seat. After the first session, they will head out the back to a bar for a few drinks and most likely that will be the last time the tragic will see them for the rest of the day. That is, unless they pop back briefly to pinch a sandwich.

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When they return to the game for the next day, they will look at the scoreboard and say, “Lara on 200? I don’t remember him passing 50!”

A subcategory of this group is the ‘corporate’. The free food and drink will always claim a few corporates who will not make it to stumps.

The pure socialite
The pure socialite is an unadulterated version of the socialite who equate the cost of their ticket to a cover charge. They arrive midway during the second session and head straight to the hospitality tents. It could be UAE vs Namibia U-9s playing, and they would be none the wiser.

Cricket knowledge is sketchy. When pressed on who the current Australian captain is, they still may think ‘Clarkey’ is in charge, but will no doubt know that his daughter’s name is Kelsey.

If they can be seen listening to a radio, it would only be at the Australia Day one-dayer for the Triple J Hottest 100 coverage.

Hill goer
One of the great traditions maintained as part of the Adelaide Oval development was the Hill. The Hill goer is there for the cricket and to spend time with their mates, but also to drink their weight in mid-strength beer.

What they bring to the cricket is simple: a watermelon laced with vodka, which will double as a hat later in the day.

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If you are struggling to build rapport with a Hill goer, just say your favourite player ever is Boony, and that it is a national disgrace that Shane Warne has not been named Australian of the Year yet.

The Hill goer is certain to head to a local pub and will make plays for the pure socialites there.

With the day-night element, the match promises to be an absolute corker, so to all those lucky enough to be heading along, enjoy!

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