FRENCH NOTES:Cricket is the true egalitarian sport of Australia and a Test match at the historic Sydney Cricket Ground remains a huge event in our sporting and cultural life, writes MATT WILLIAMS

THE SYDNEY Cricket Ground is a magic old stadium. It drips history. For more than 100 years it was the hub of Sydney sport. Up until 1988 all rugby league, rugby, athletics, soccer, AFL and, of course, cricket was played at this beautiful ground. Every January the greatest of all Sydney sporting traditions takes place at the SCG, the Test match. There is nothing quiet like being a Sydney boy, at the SCG on these summer days and this year is special; it is the 100th Test match in Sydney.

To be here, is to link the past with today.

As a sports-mad boy, my father took my three brothers and me to the SCG to see the touring Lions, New Zealand, and in 1971 the last Springboks before the “apartheid ban”. We watched a swag full of great rugby league games too.

One of my first memories in life is being at the SCG in 1969. Our family arrived a full nine hours before kick-off to get seats to support our beloved Balmain Tigers against South Sydney in that season’s Grand Final. We were not alone in our early arrival – 40,000 others were there by 10am for the 3pm kick-off. Why? Apart from the members area, there were no allocated seats. It was first in, best dressed. We found our perch.

In what is regarded as the greatest Grand Final in modern times, the Tigers tackled their way to a stunning upset and we have been sticking it to “Souths” ever since.

In 1979 I watched Ireland, captained by the wonderful Ciarán Fitzgerald, defeat the Wallabies. A great day for Irish rugby, it sparked a massive reaction from Australia who later that same year, at the SCG, defeated New Zealand.

After that victory Wallaby coach Dave Brockhoff did a lap of honour, holding the Bledisloe Cup aloft. The devoted locals, including me, loved it. The New Zealanders, who had held the cup for more than 30 years were none too pleased. The actual trophy had been under a desk in an NZRFU store room.

Few remembered it or even cared about it. That day stirred the Kiwis and brought the value of the Bledisloe Cup back to life, a life that today still has plenty of meaning.

As I walk into the SCG I pass the Sydney Football Stadium, home of the Waratahs. The two stadiums are less than 50 metres apart. The entire precinct is adorned with beautiful bronze statues of heroic athletes. One statue has special value to me. Trevor Allen’s image is immortalised, both hands up, fingers spread, waiting to receive a pass, scrumcap on, swerving on his left foot.

Trevor was just 21 when he captained the Wallabies to their first Bledisloe win in New Zealand in 1949.

He came from humble beginnings and was offered a massive amount of money to switch to rugby league, which, for the good of his family, he had no choice but to accept. To the everlasting shame of the then Australian rugby community, he was ostracised. His photo on the wall of his Sydney club, where his father Gordon had been club coach for more than 20 years, was removed as he was branded a dirty pro.

When I was made head coach of the Waratahs in 1997, I contacted Trevor. He was a famous Waratah as well as a Wallaby. I told him it was okay, “now we are all dirty pros”. I detested the snobbery and bigotry that was in rugby at the time so I held out a hand to Trevor. Sometimes life provides the opportunity to heal some wounds.

Trevor came and met the players with understandable trepidation. The last time he had been with a Waratah team was 1950. At the meeting he unexpectedly produced his old Waratah jersey. He told the players he kept the jersey because the other men who wore the jersey on that day had stood by him his entire life. While others had turned their backs, his team-mates, his friends had remained loyal. He suggested they all do the same to each other, no matter what.

Trevor was well into his 70s. He had every reason to be bitter, but he was much bigger than that. He gave inspiration and leadership to players who were young enough to be his grandchildren. We were playing Queensland that week. We won and won well.

I understood what made Trevor a great captain. He was humble and honest. I understood why his team-mates would run through brick walls for him. I don’t know if it healed anything inside Trevor before he died, but I learnt a lot off him in my few meetings. He was a great man. I touch the number on the back of Trevor’s statue and walk on.

Cricket is the true egalitarian sport of Australia. Unlike rugby or Aussie Rules, cricket has no geographic boundaries. AFL is in the south and west of Australia and the rugby codes are on the east coast. Cricket is played all across the nation, covering all social-economic categories and classes.

Australia is obsessed with both sport and winning. Across a range of sports Australians are successful. From Cadel Evans, the current the Tour de France champion, Samantha Stozur, the US Women’s Tennis champion, Australian sport is about high achievement.

Of all the sports, cricket is the one that is both the hardest to be selected in and holds the highest honour. The greatest symbol of Australian sport is the “baggy green” cap. You only get one. You keep it your entire career. It fades, gets sweat marks, some even have holes. It is a symbol of the player’s experience and cricket wisdom. It has a value far beyond its material worth. Like Trevor’s jersey, its value comes from the men who have worn it.

Ian Chapel, a tough, legendary former Australian captain said: “The only good thing England every did for cricket was invent it.” Many Irish rejected English garrison sports. The Australian attitude was to play the British sports and then make a national pathological obsession of trying to smash the “Poms” at all of their own games.

Last year when Australia were painfully losing to England in the Ashes series, a photograph of prime minister Julia Gillard and the then captain of the national cricket team Ricky Ponting, appeared in the paper. The heading read: “One of these people has the hardest and most important job in the country. The other is the Prime Minister”. Sadly the statement was completely accurate. Australia lost to England in the series and the country remains emotionally devastated.

Before I settle down to several hours of cricket at the SCG, I walk through the main entertainment area at the rear of the members stand. The four tennis courts are transformed into a series of mini cricket matches for kids who play semi-organised games of cricket with plastic bats and tennis balls under the watchful eyes of development officers. Close by there is a pavilion with a jazz band playing and a giant screen showing the live action from the pitch. There are food and drink stands, champagne bars – all are packed. I find a seat in the shade and Australia are batting.

Now it is late in the afternoon and “beer o’clock”. Time to wander into the members’ bar and find some mates to watch the last hour through huge open windows. The last remnants of the colonial beginnings of the SCG are the members’ and ladies stand. The architecture is of the 1890s. They are heritage listed and smell of sweat and liniment. The bar is packed. There are politicians, captains of industry, Olympians, sports stars actors, authors, TV stars, horse trainers, bookies and one or two big time criminals. Like Sydney itself, it is loud, outrageous and great fun.

The walls are adorned with photos from the past of every sport played on the famous old ground. Beer in hand, I wander about and read the names of the ancient greats. If you love your sport, this is its Sydney soul. Staring down on it all, dominating the room, written in giant letters is one name. BRADMAN.

Donald Bradman. The greatest cricketer and the greatest sportsman Australia has ever produced. He is known simply as “The Don”. It is the one name that encapsulates all that Australians desire in their sportsmen. Staggering success, humility and a life-long understanding that the Australian public owns you whether you like it or not.

Bradman’s batting average was an unbelievable 99.94. The next best average anywhere in the world is South African Graham Pollock on 60.97. Bradman was almost twice as good as the next all-time best. He was the master. Long after his death he remains the most dominant figure in Australian sport.

Out on the pitch Michael Clarke, the Australian captain hit 329 not out. The highest single amount of runs ever scored at the SCG. Australia defeat India in four days. But the cricket is just part of the experience.

The Sydney Test match is an event, a way of celebrating our sporting life and culture. It’s not about just one game of cricket. It is about Sydney past, present and the future.