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Opinion

Why the Sydney Pink Test means so much to me

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Roar Guru
3rd January, 2022
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The third of January in 2012 is still a date I remember quite well.

Watching the second Test between Australia and India on TV with my mum, I can fondly recall mum recognising some of the Indian players and mentioning it to me in Bengali.

“Hey, that’s Zaheer [Khan]. Oh, that’s [Rahul] Dravid. Where’s Harbhajan [Singh]? Why isn’t he playing in the Test?”

Mum was not an avid cricket fan like the ten-year-old version (or the current version) of me was, but she still knew enough names to spend time watching the Aussie summer of cricket with me.

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Seven months later, she would lose her life to a three-and-a-half-year battle with lung cancer.

For me, cricket was my escape following mum’s death. I would drown myself staying up late at night watching the English summer of cricket and the T20 World Cup in 2012.

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When the 2012-13 Australian summer of cricket fixtures came out, I was looking to one game the most: the New Year’s Test, also known as the Pink Test in honour of Jane McGrath.

Although the Test was relatively one sided, I still remember getting goosebumps seeing the support the SCG crowd showed on Day 3 (nowadays known as Jane McGrath Day) by wearing pink and the donations the Jane McGrath Foundation would receive during the Pink Test.

Jane McGrath Stand

The SCG’s Ladies Stand turns into the Jane McGrath Stand each year for the Pink Test. (Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)

As years passed on, I would try to keep my calendar free during the Pink Test, but circumstances – alongside good old Sydney rain – would ruin my chances of attending the Pink Test at the SCG.

But my chance finally came during the 2017-18 Ashes. Attending Days 2 and 5, I was in awe, having finally attended a Test match at the SCG and being able to donate to Jane McGrath Foundation volunteers inside the SCG gates.

When the screens at the SCG showed that the Jane McGrath Foundation had exceeded their goal of $1.3 million in donations, there was a massive sense of personal pride for me.

I felt that my contribution would help those suffering with breast cancer get the highest quality medical support in difficult and trying times.

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The success of the Jane McGrath Foundation has seen other nations such as England and South Africa adopt international matches during their summer (one at Lord’s and one in Johannesburg) to be played in honour of those who have lost their lives to breast cancer, with donations going to foundations supporting those who are diagnosed with breast cancer.

It has been ten years since my mum was alive during the Sydney Pink Test, watching it with me on TV.

There are many others like myself who have lost loved ones to cancer and it is an experience that takes plenty of time to accept and heal from.

Thankfully, my passion for sports (particularly cricket) helped me get through a gruelling time.

And that is why the Pink Test during the New Year at the SCG has meant a lot to me since my mum’s death.

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