Today, the new Trumper Stand at the SCG, arguably the best viewing cricket stand in the world, will be used for its first Test when Australia plays South Africa in the second Test.

It will also be the first Test the famous South Sydney barracker Yabba (Stephen Harold Gascoigne) will be in attendance for decades. For in a remarkable gesture to all the spectators who have come to the SCG to watch the hundreds of great contests, the SCG has placed a bronze statue of Yabba in the first row of Bay 15 of the Trumper Stand.

Beautfilly scupltured by Cathy Weiszmann, Yabba is in characteristic pose, with his hand acting as a megaphone to broadcast one of his famous cries:

“I wish you were a statue and I were a pigeon.”

To Douglas Jardine during the Bodyline Series when the England captain brushed away a fly: “Leave our flies alone. They’re the only friends you’ve got here.”

“Send ‘im down a piano, see if he can play that!”

To a batsman fiddling with his protector: “Those were the only balls you’ve touched all day.”

When the Trumper Stand and the Yabba statue were unveiled, the SCG Trust put on a specially commissioned play which was written by the chairman of the Trust, Rodney Cavalier, with input from Sean Fagan, Ian Heads, Phil Derriman, Jamie Barkley, Jim Shepherd, Dean Carey, and Spiro Zavos.

The dramatis personae: Victor Trumper – Dean Baker. Dally Messenger – Jack Millynn. Boys – Jack Dawes, Lachlan Kiss. Director – Dean Carey

The plays begins:

SET: Sydney Cricket Ground. Concourse immediately adjacent to boundary fence in front of the Victor Trumper Stand. The action will take place on either side of a large object, presently shrouded, just inside the fence, occupying several seats.

The time is timeless but pre-1914. The indication of the era is the clothing of the characters.

All characters will need to be wired for microphones. The sound will carry out of the video screen to all those who choose to watch from the Members Reserve on the other side of the field.

The sculpture is unveiled.

Previous speaker finishes remarks.

There follows a slide show of people and moments at the SCG. The final slide freezes and remains in place.

Two boys, dressed like urchins from c.1910, emerge from the shadows throwing a ball (made from wrapped newspapers, shape not yet determined) to each other. They are using rugby passes, received like a rugby player. They run forward and down the steps, they will run along rows of seats though not the same row. Great care will be taken to ensure sufficient running space. The lads provide a fanciful commentary on their deeds.

1st LAD: McCarthy to Fulton to Gasnier, Gasnier accelerates, he’s through, gives it to Cleary, put down your glasses. The crowd’s gone crazy.

2nd LAD: Trevor Allan has barrelled the All Black, the ball’s loose, Shehadie swoops on it, he crashes over. Awesome.

1st: Roos and Kelly have set it up. Lockett kicks, it’s looking good . . .

2nd: . . . looking good (voice rises on second word)

TOGETHER: and the Swans are through to the grand final.

One boy stands still. He is on a higher step or runs to a much higher step. He holds his arm aloft, hand in a claw, pretending he has a cricket ball. The other boy takes guard, pretending to hold a bat in front of his wicket. The bowler takes a pace or two and hurls the imaginary ball at the batsman.

1st: Davidson bowls a magnificent delivery.

The batsman steps back and square cuts.

2nd: Cowdrey cuts.

Both boys look square to the batsman following the line of his hit.

1st: A magnificent catch by Benaud in the gully.

The boys join up and run down the steps. Their running brings them to Yabba. The boys pause, recognise who it is.

1st: Look, it’s Mr Yabba.

2nd: He’s not saying anything.

1st (in a booming roar): Av a go yer mug.

2nd (same volume): Get a bag.

1st: You leave our flies alone, Jardine.

2nd: Roooooooooos.

TOGETHER: Sydneeeeeee.

1st: He’s been doing it all day, Sir.

2nd: Good on ya, Davo

1st: Get ‘em on-side, ref.

TOGETHER: Lollllllly legs.

TOGETHER: Bring on, Dougie.

The boys are giggling. They leave Yabba.

On their way up the alternative row of steps, they encounter two blokes dressed c.1910. They stop. One of the blokes speaks.

DALLY: You like playing football, son?

1st LAD: We do, Mr Messenger.

VIC: Any preference?

2nd : We like them all, Mr Trumper, including the game they play in Victoria.

V: Some of us tried to bring that game here.

D: That jumper is all you have to play with?

1st : That’s all there is where we come from.

V: Well, I guess you could make good use of this. (Hands the lad a real rugby ball.)

The lads are gobsmacked. They look at each other in wonder.

2nd: Wow!!! Gee, thanks Mr Trumper.

The boys run off passing their new ball.

D: That’s a wonderful thing to do, Vic, but . . . (exasperated), Mate, your generosity is going to get you into trouble.

V: The lads need a ball.

D: They certainly do.

Vic and Dally walk down the steps. They stand either side of Yabba.

D: Well, Vic, who would have thought those crusty fellas on the other side of the Ground would honour Yabba? He made so much noise over the years.

V: He did, Dally, he did. He wasn’t the only one but he was the loudest.

D: And the cleverest.

Vic and Dally move to either side of Yabba. Essentially, they will remain either side. They will not move much. They will remain standing.

V: That’s so. Yab somehow knew when to shout into a lull.

D: Which wasn’t often when you were out there, Vic.

V: He helped make this Ground famous around the world. The English players left with stories of him they never stopped telling.

D: Yabba saw a lot. Think of what happened in front of that seat over the centuries and all around it.

V: The grand old ground’s seen it all.

D: Absolutely. You remember the carry on about lights for night cricket? People don’t remember the night cycling carnivals, the biggest purses in the world were on offer. Major Taylor, the American, he was huge. Big crowds every night.

V: The lights and the cycle track ran right through where Yabs is now. The track and the light poles, they were part of the Ground for so long. We had to walk up steps to come onto the field.

D: And the lights, you know, they were strung up by a bloke called George Bradman who later moved to Bowral and had a boy who played his first serious cricket here and loved this Ground more than any other. Some think he was as good as you which is quite a claim.

V: None of that matters. What mattered was the joy of being young and fit and good enough to play for NSW and Australia. And to be respected and rewarded if you put in a lot of time and looked after if you were injured. That’s why Sydney backed you and your mates when you started the rugby league. We owe you a lot for what you did. Even rugby union is professional now. Cricketers are paid properly. It’s a different world.

D: They were great times. Everything seemed younger then.

V: We certainly were. Every era had its moments. You remember Ron Roberts’ try over there, 1950? Australia beat Great Britain in the rugby league Ashes for the first time in 30 years.

D: Stan McCabe took on everything Larwood and Voce hurled at him. 187 not out and didn’t take a step forward. That was courage. No helmets then. Archie Jackson, just a kid, a century on debut. Reg Gasnier, that acceleration, Johnny Raper and his cover tackles, all those grand finals, eleven straight when St George were unbeatable. Noel Kelly chasing Tommy Bishop and not once catching him. The league and rugby Tests, the battle of Rorke’s Drift, some of Darcy Lawler’s calls.

V: Tony Lockett putting the Swans into a semi after the bell. The dedication of Paul Kelly. The Swans didn’t stop trying even when they were being clobbered.

D: Trevor Allan, such a glorious player. Never been a better tackler. Those Wallaby greats like Col Windon, Lonnie Spragg, Mark Ella, David Campese, Nick Shehadie, Ken Catchpole. Never saw anything worse than what the All Blacks did to Catchie.

V: He came back, the champions always do.

D: Courage doesn’t change. The Ground has. The Hill’s gone. The new stands we saw go up have gone. Now Clive Churchill is celebrated. Clive was a wonderful player.

V: He was. Tiger’s got his own stand. And Monty and Don, of course. You too, Dally. It’s good that the Brewongle has survived. Very different though.

D: And now you, Vic. Well done.

V: Thanks for that. It’s great honour. I’m delighted the Members and the Ladies have survived. Our old dressing room is just the same.

D: So much has changed. Planes now fly over regularly, trams no longer stop here. The old Show has gone and they’re making flicks next door. The speed cars used to make so much noise at the Sportsground but they’re gone and so’s the Sportsground.

V: The SCG no.2 is gone

D: I would have given much to have played on the Football Stadium. Everyone’s got a seat now. The whole place seems more comfortable.

V: Yet, nothing that’s important has changed. It’s still, God to right, the SCG. The middle, look at it, the outfield and the wicket, that could be 1850 or any time since.

D: Same for the football. I’m so pleased they’ve retained the wicket square. None of this drop in.

V: A nonsense.

D: I like the noise. I like the quiet.

V: I like the people who’ve been coming all these years. I’ve admired the players in the middle. They risked it all every time they appeared.

D: Always special for the players.

V: You love it when it’s full. Remember the day we had 78,000 here officially? That was the official numbers.

D: 65 grand final. Reg Gasnier, Johnny Raper, Mike Cleary, Graeme Langlands, Ron Coote, Bobby McCarthy.

V: Bobby Fulton too. He was sitting top of the Brewongle that day. How he climbed up we’ll never know.

D: He was lucky he didn’t break his neck.

V: Yabba saw so much of it before . . . (Vic’s enunciation trails off; he is lost for words.)

D: . . . before he joined us? (Dally speaks emphatically, he does not share the embarrassment of Vic whatever that embarrassment might be.) Yabba’s never been away.

V: Dally, we’ve gone beyond memory. Some of the blokes are here. Now. There are other people here.

(Silence. Vic and Dally stare intently at the crowd on the field.)

D: There usually are.

V: They’re on the field, Dally, they can see and hear us. Today, for some reason, they know we’re here.

D: We’re always here. Those with a love of sport know we’re here. We’re always here. We’ve seen it all. Before we were – how do you put it – before we came to where we are.

V: And everything before then too.

(Vic and Dally survey the audience. They will name, moving sequentially, the great players of recent times they have seen. The Trust will supply a list of such names.)

D: It’s great to be at the Ground any time. Match or no match.

V: It’s a forever thing.

D: Right here.

D’s voice joins V so that together they say in unison: the Sydney Cricket Ground.

(Dally and Vic pat Yabba on the head.)

V: See you, mate.

D: You’re going to love it there.

Exeunt Vic and Dally side by side. They may chat idly about needing a hot pie, break into song – e.g. “Our Don Bradman”, “Up There, Cazaly”, “I like Aeroplane Jelly” – taking care about what is on the ground, perhaps commenting on the litter.