Aussie Aussie Aussie! 2/3: Waugh, Ashes and The Harbor

So far I've covered the first few days in Oz.  Now it's time to get to the meat of the trip, the cricket.

While our first few days in Sydney were filled with touristy stuff and the whole New Year experience, our immersion in cricket started on the first day of 2011.  Having only been able to catch cricket on horribly poor quality streams online we were going to be treated to our first taste of the game.


We didn't wake up particularly early on the first since we were still recovering from the night before.  We didn't have it as bad as some other people, fortunately.  Outside the hotel Graham and Brad met us in the Ford Fiesta.  Coogee Oval was our destination and what a fantastic place it is.  It is a rather small oval but it has a great view overlooking Coogee Beach.  On the drive in Ashes had another interview, at this point I had already lost count with how many she'd done.  We arrived at the oval for the charity Barmy Army vs The Fanatics game, third in a series of three.  Glenn McGrath was there to do the coin toss for the game and you could see the crowd were excited by that, even though I didn't know who he was.  The Fanatics gave Ashes a free visor, so I was given a Barmy Army hat for balance.  We are impartial after all!  Check us out in our hats.

We didn't stick around too long since we didn't want to steal the thunder from the players.  It was their day to shine (though I hear the Barmy Army shined a bit brighter that day).  This was also the site of Ashes' first run in with a fan.  We were standing around watching our first bit of live action cricket, followed quickly by our first wicket, and an English fan approached her and asked if she was The Ashes.  She was of course tweeting her location during the whole trip and it was probably inevitable, but I thought it was exciting for her to be recognized.  He was a really nice guy and we had a short chat with him before he asked her for an autograph!  After this we decided that it was time for us to move on and get some lunch.  By the time we left the Fanatics had lost three wickets by my count.


For lunch we headed to a great little place called The Oaks.  In the center of the outdoor dining area was a massive oak tree which was covered with Christmas lights at the time.  This tree shaded the entire seating area.  The tree had quite a story behind it and was insured for $3 million.  The place also kept a gardener on staff specifically for the tree.  The food was probably some of the best I had on the trip.  Ashes and I were treated to some steak and chicken which was cooked on an outdoor grill.  Usually it's DIY, but the team took care of it for us.


After lunch we were advised that a ferry ride across the harbor would be a damn fine way to spend the day.  It was a beautiful warm, clear day and honestly we couldn't have agreed more.  So we were dropped off at Circular Quay and set about to find a ferry.  We got tickets to Manly and after a short wait we were on our way.  The ferry ride was so nice and refreshing, and after being out in the sun all day it was just what we needed.  Sitting on the outside we had a great view of the scenery and there were plenty of opportunities for Ashes to snap pictures.  It was about a half hour ride.  We disembarked at Manly and had to look at the GPS to find the actual beach proper, though it turned out we could have just walked from the dock.  Either way we emerged at the far end of Manly Beach.  Down a ramp and onto the beach we walked until we finally stepped into the water.  This was the first time I had ever seen the Pacific Ocean (Tasman Sea, whatever) let alone waded into it.  We were both both far more giddy than our ages should allow.  Check it out (still wearing my Barmy Army hat of course.)

 After a short wade and a bit of a wander up the beach we headed across the street and Ashes did the bulk of her souvenir shopping.  At dinner time we found a burger place facing the beach called BurgerMe (I think).  The menu featured probably the most surprising burger that any American would expect to find, Kangaroo Burger (the JumpMe).  Naturally I had to order it.  My first bite of kangaroo went very well.  Kangaroo is tasty, very tasty.  In fact it was much better than the beef burger we ordered at the same place.  If you get a chance to go to Australia, try the kangaroo.  It's gamey and very good.  Just don't tell your animal loving friends about it.  After dinner we caught the ferry home.  This was at sunset and was a lovely evening ride.  The perfect way to cap off a fun day.

The next day was quite eventful.  Ashes had another early morning television show to do.  This time I was up early enough to join her and LJ in the studio.  It was Sunrise on Channel 7.  We arrived at the studio and went downstairs to the makeup room.  At this point she was clearly getting used to the star treatment and was dealing with the flattery quite well.  I was still a little out of my depth.  Sitting around watching the hair people do their stuff was quite boring so the stagehand led us upstairs to the green room (more of a hallway) where we were able to watch the show in progress.  When it was time for Ashes to go in they let me sit on the stage and watch it all happen.  The first thing I noticed when I got in there was that voice overs were loud in the studios but the live stuff wasn't.  I know it would create a feedback loop, but it was weird to hear TV presenters talking in just their normal voices.  Gimme a break, I'd never been in a studio before then.  Her interview was much, much better than the one on Channel 9.  They gave a good amount of time to her and had a video package prepared.  It looked like she was having a lot of fun doing it too.  This interview was clearly going to make an impact.  Boy how right I would be about that.

After the interview came an event that Ashes and the team had been building up to for a while, the backyard cricket game at Hart's Pub in The Rocks.  This was a lot of fun.  When we arrived there was a blackboard advertising the event and inside there was a giant TV with a livestream of all the mentions of @theashes.  It was flowing fast and furious and the buzz was big.  This is where we met Mike Stuchbery, the guy who started the campaign to get my GF over there.  He was a really cool, really interesting guy.  We sat around chatting for a while as they were setting up the cricket outside.  They also set up a camera and livestreamed the event.  We got outside and started to play some cricket.  Ashes took her turn at batting and got bowled out a few times, by a small child no less.  That little kid schooled her!  I do have to add it was a plastic children's cricket set and a tennis ball, not the full sized stuff.  We weren't going to knock anybody out with this stuff. It was a lot of fun, and I guess the viewers on the stream got into the high double digits, maybe triple.  When it was my turn to bat I hit some big runs, triples, fours and even a six (by our reckoning).  I was bowled out by Ashes in the end.  I fielded a bit, but it was extremely hot out and I needed to hydrate so I took a break.  Brad brought Ashes and me the traditional Australian summer drink, Lemon-Lime and Bitters.  It was the perfect drink for the moment.  I have a new favorite summer drink now. 

After the play was dying down we found out some pretty exciting news.  Brad had received a call that seemed to excite him.  It turns out that was with good reason.  Earlier that day a man named Steve Waugh, who is apparently quite a big deal, and his wife Lynette had seen Ashes on Sunrise.  They decided that it would be fun to invite both of us as guests of honor to the Legends of Cricket lunch at the first day of the Sydney test.  We were excited by everybody elses excitement.  To us it was another name, but to everybody else he was the captain.  Captain of the Australian cricket team and a national icon.  We were impressed.  That night Ashes had another interview with BBC, which we had to go to the ABC studios for since BBC was renting space there.  After this interview we went and wandered around Chinatown before heading home.  We went to bed early in anticipation of the following day.

Monday was the first day of the 5th test of The Ashes series.  England had already retained but there was still a lot of anticipation going into it.  For us we had to wake up early and get dressed up for the test.  Since we were attending a very fancy event it meant that there was a dress code.  I had to wear a suit and tie, and in some pretty severe heat.  It didn't matter though.  We were taken to the game by Brad who dropped us off outside the stadium.  It took us a while to find our tickets and get inside, but once we were through the crowds and the gates it was easy going.  Through doors into an exclusive members area we went, past people that would normally stop rabble like myself.  When we arrived at the room where the lunch was held we were greeted by service like I had never seen in my life.  Free food was aplenty and a lot of important looking people filled the room.  We found seats outside and watched the game for a while.  My first taste of live cricket was awesome.  Even as far up as we were it was still possible to hear the crack of the bat.  I would've thought following the ball would be hard but it was easy.  I was loving it.  We sat there, snacking and watching the game until lunch time.  At lunch we went inside and took our seats, which had goodies in them.  Ashes got a nice shawl and I got a pair of cufflinks (actually 3 sets, don't ask) in the shape of a cricket bat and ball.

At lunch I noticed Eric Bana walk by and knew we were someplace pretty important.  Just after the food came so did Steve Waugh.  He sat right next to Ashes.  I can barely remember the conversations we had as I was just overloaded with everything going on.  I know we talked about Ashes' story, which was the reason we were there, and how Lynette had come up with the idea after seeing her on Sunrise.  They mentioned how it was a hard room to get into, with Lynette herself not being able to get in until 10 years after Steve.  And he we were in a place much the envy of many Australians.  We talked about American sports, cricket, and other stuff.  Ashes would probably remember better than me.  Together with Steve we watched Usman Kawaja's debut, he was confident that he would do well.  So many of the bigwigs there were trying so, so hard.  It was weird.  I might go more into that at some point.  For us it was natural, it was fun, and I think Steve and Lynette really liked that.

Lunch ended and the Waughs invited us to sit with them when the cricket started back up.  We sat right next to them when we got back outside and Lynette and Ashes seemed to strike up a great rapport.  They talked and talked and talked, I on the other hand had fun watching the game.  Steve kept keying in on the strategies on the field and telling us what was going on.  We were being schooled in the game of cricket by one of Australia's most successful captains ever!  The best part is that wherever he was, the other important people seemed to flock.  At one point we were surrounded by famous cricketers, former prime ministers and movie stars.  Glenn McGrath, John Howard, and Eric Bana were all right in the area.  In fact there was even a shot on the Channel 9 coverage that showed us up there during one of the rain delays.  It was amazing.  Steve kept introducing us to these people.  When Eric Bana turned around and looked me dead in the eye to start up a conversation it was probably the most surreal moment of my life.  We talked about American sports.  I think I made an ass of myself.  He recognized my GF from the television as well.  Very cool stuff, I think we were the envy of all the corporate types milling about.  Steve also introduced us to John Howard, who also recognized Ashes.  It was quite a day.  Sitting right next to Steve Waugh and talking cricket was a huge highlight of the trip for me, and probably a big factor in my new fandom for the sport.  They had to leave in order to deal with their bored teenage daughter and gave Ashes their contact information.  We stayed for the rest of the match, what little their was thanks to rain delay, and headed home.

So yeah, our first day of cricket was pretty amazing.

Tomorrow it's the last few days of our trip, including a sailboat ride and another day of cricket.