Opening Day - Sheffield Shield Cricket

Saturday, October 10 is the opening day of Sheffield Shield Cricket. This is the long form of cricket (up to 4 days). Each Australian state has a team and the schedule usually calls for a home and away pair of matches. COVID has buggered everything.  Just like the NBA played in a "bubble" in Orlando, Florida, so the entire Sheffield Shield season will be played in Adelaide. The entire woman's Big Bash League will be played in a Sydney bubble and the 6 match women's series between Australia and New Zealand was conducted at Alan Border Stadium in Brisbane. 2020 will become known as the year of the bubble. Australian Rules Football, mostly a Melbourne dominated league is being played in 2 bubbles: Brisbane and Adelaide.

With Bronwyn and Neil coming for dinner this evening, CJ doesn't have much time for biking and watching the cricket. He will bike north in the parklands, stay up on the road as opposed to taking the river trail so that he can get a photograph of the makeshift Adelaide Oval #2.

He crosses the Weir, under the northbound railroad tracks, through Bonython Park and over the southbound railroad tracks. From the top of the bridge, Queensland is playing Tasmania on the Park 25 Oval. It is located just behind and adjacent to Karen Rolton Oval where our South Australia West End (a beer company) Redbacks are hosting Western Australia.

How does the US approach to COVID control differ from Australia? Before he can enter the Karen Rolton Oval, CJ must download a special COVID tracking app. Should someone found to be COVID positive, the government can contact everyone who attended the match. It's very simple.  If you refuse to download the app, you DO NOT GET IN!  The download is simple. Turn on the QR Scanner on your phone and take a picture of the QR Square and fill in the downloaded form.

 

By the way, we do not have a single active COVID case in South Australia and haven't had but one here and there in four months; and we're still TESTING and TRACKING as if COVID was rampant here. In the US the attitude: it will be what it will be. No, it doesn't have to be. Strong leadership flattens the COVID curve; and quickly.

He finally gets the app downloaded and gets in where the redbacks are doing horribly. 

CJ has pulled up a piece of ground in the shade under a tree. Sheffield Shield is rarely contended before large crowds but the faithful and diehards show up to support the lads. The ladies also support the cricket. That is two ladies walking in below.

The cricket gods are not smiling on the Redbacks nor on CJ. The Redbacks haven't taken a wicket while CJ's been watching but the second he turns his back to leave the field toward the exit, he hears the shout. At this level of state cricket, there are no replay screens.