Bankstown Oval        

Bankstown,
Sydney, New South Wales

Profile

Situated in the south-west of Sydney, the home ground of the Bankstown-Canterbury Bulldogs in the Sydney grade competition. There have been a number of great players who first made their mark here - Jeff Thomson and Len Pascoe shared the new ball for Bankstown in the early seventies - but it is the Waugh twins, Stephen and Mark, who are perhaps the best-loved local heroes to have graced its field. Indeed the new pavillion opened at the ground in early 2000 was named "The Stephen & Mark Waugh Pavillion" in their honour.

Frequently used for NSW representative games at second eleven and colts level, Bankstown Oval received the opportunity to stage a Sheffield Shield match against Queensland in November 1996 when the SCG had been double-booked for a Michael Jackson concert. Steve Waugh marked the first day of first-class cricket here by scoring a century on his home ground, though this was slightly upstaged the next day when Andrew Symonds blasted a hundred in a session.

Women's international cricket came to Bankstown Oval in November 1997 when Australia's annual clash with New Zealand for the Rose Bowl took place here. Major interstate cricket returns to Bankstown Oval in 2000-01, while the Sydney Cricket Ground is being relaid, with a match in each of the Pura Cup and Mercantile Mutual Cup to be staged here.

Bankstown Oval has consistently ranked highly in the Sydney Cricket Association's Ground of the Year award, coming first in 1999-2000. The repeated high standing of the ground is a testimony to groundsman Warwick Starr, and his predecessor Tom Parker.

(Rick Eyre, October 2000)

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Latest Photos

Mar 14, 2009

Dark clouds gather over the Bankstown Oval
© Getty Images

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