Arabic version: أول مباراة اختبارية في ماكاي تُفتتح أمام جمهور كامل العدد

According to ABC News, Mackay is hosting its first international Test cricket match, with day one of Australia versus Bangladesh selling out at Great Barrier Reef Arena at Harrup Park. The Queensland city’s ground is the 12th Australian venue to host a Test match.

The occasion follows decades of work at Harrup Park. In the late 1980s, the cricket association sought to expand but lacked finance, according to Mackay cricket stalwart Barry Jansen. A government grant and a bank loan, guaranteed by the homes of three members, funded the expansion. Jansen said he had mortgaged his house and told his wife about it about five years later.

The field had been a cow paddock in 1939, when local farmers bought it for 1,000 pounds to start a cricket club. Jansen said the earlier supporters created the vision that later generations had to carry forward.

Grandstands and hills at the arena were packed with Bangladeshi locals waving flags and placards. Shagufta Hasan said Mackay had 32 Bangladeshi families and that the community was excited by the match. She described herself as a “true cricket lover” and said the community watched cricket whether Bangladesh was playing or not.

Mackay resident Mel Dwyer, one of two Cricket Australia official scorers at the game, said scoring a Test in her home town was a dream come true. She made her Test scoring debut at the Gabba in 2024 during Australia versus West Indies. Head curator Peter Kazakoff said favourable weather and rainfall earlier in the week helped produce a strong pitch, which uses the same clay soil profile as the Gabba.