Our correspondent is charmed by the rivers Torrens and Swan, and enjoys the public transport system in Australia even when things go wrong
Abhishek Purohit08-Mar-2015February 11
There is one conveyor belt for international arrivals at Adelaide airport. Coming from the huge terminals in Mumbai and Singapore, it feels cramped. Then you get out of the airport. Massive paved open space outside.The Torrens River, just across the road from Adelaide Oval, seems more like Torrens lake: it is that placid. Sign at the end of the bridge says an earlier one was washed away in a flood. Deceptive waters.February 12
Dash for the bus. Think it is one of those free ones. Also seem to have heard driver confirming that. Go and sit in the back. Driver waits. “So are we buying one?” Realise this is not a free ride. Sheepishly walk back up. Ticket now has to be put into a validation machine. Push it in the wrong way. Then push it in the correct way, but hold on to it longer than needed. Ticket gets stuck. Machine gets jammed. “Jesus,” goes driver. Takes off his seat belt. Hauls himself up his seat slowly. Tries to retrieve ticket. No success. Mutters something about hope and settles into seat again. “Why don’t you just walk?” some exasperated passengers call out. Hold my hands up in apology. Bus finally moves.India practising at St Peters College. Beautiful ground, dotted with buildings that look like mini-castles. There are five more such ovals on the same premises, says the manager. Six in all. You cannot be serious. Several Indian cities together don’t have six grounds like this.February 13
This has become a nice routine. Walk from hotel to West Terrace tram stop. Get down two stops later at Adelaide Railway Station. Walk through the concourse. Cross the bridge. We’re at Adelaide Oval. The new ground seems so much more intimidating, so unlike the old one remembered from TV broadcasts and photos. Like Eden Park.Afghanistan and Bangladesh fans at Manuka•Getty ImagesFebruary 14
It is a scorcher today. The walk across the Torrens involves being lashed in the face with hot air. Melinda Farrell, one of ESPNcricinfo’s video correspondents, is dragging herself along, pulled down by the weight of all her equipment. “Are you Melinda?” “Yes.” “Can I help you with your equipment?” “You don’t have to, but yes, thank you.” Nice way to meet a colleague for the first time.February 15
It is still morning, and the madness has already built up for India v Pakistan. Streets leading towards the ground filled with people chanting slogans, singing songs, shouting in general. Australian man plonks down a large bundle at an intersection and starts selling team t-shirts, caps, vuvuzuelas, the works. Enterprise always comes along with India v Pakistan.Past midnight, Hindley Street’s restaurants are overflowing with hungry fans after the game. As far as you can see, all the chairs by the road are taken.February 16
“Any buses for Manuka?” I ask at Canberra airport. Nope. The Australia capital does not do public transport too well.It is such a pleasant change covering a team other than India. The Bangladesh media manager, Rabeed Imam, is helpful as always. Watch the team train from right behind the nets. Tamim Iqbal gets into a hitting contest against fielding coach Ruwan Kalpage’s offbreaks. Steps out and crashes one high and straight. Six, he claims. Two, says Kalpage, reminding Tamim about the big outfield at Manuka Oval. Tamim turns to me for help. Four, I offer as a compromise, saying he timed it quite well. Kalpage feigns shock and gives in. “Thanks for that boundary,” Tamim tells me later.The Perth skyline from across the Swan River•Getty ImagesFebruary 17
Canberra’s streets are like those in some New Zealand town. On the 15-minute walk to the ground, you are lucky if you spot more than a person or two. Some good cafés, bars and restaurants close to the ground, though.February 18
Before the start of the game, spot an Afghanistan supporter wearing and a Bangladesh one wearing a . After the game, spot a possum on the stairs outside the press box. Creature slithers away as I try to get a closer look.February 19
First sighting of the MCG. The outfield is huge by itself, but it is still dwarfed by the scale of those magnificent stands.The brightly lit Yarra riverfront glimmers at night. Can sit on the benches at Southbank and gaze at the water and the skyline on the opposite shore for hours.Excellent tram network in Melbourne. One seems to jump out of every third street.February 21
White Night, a big cultural event. Spectacular motion illuminations projected onto buildings in the city centre. There is even one from . Walkways across the river are packed. Takes nearly half an hour to get across.All kinds of stuff happening at crowded Southbank. Man offering up to A$100 to anyone who can ride his bicycle a few metres. The catch: to turn left, you need to turn the handle right, and left if you want to move right. $20 for five tries. He must have made a small fortune that night.February 22
MCG is a short walk across Yarra Park from my hotel but I take the tram to the city centre on India v South Africa match day. And walk back along the river to the MCG. Cloudy skies make it a greater pleasure. As you cross the William Barak bridge, on which music from many countries is played, the MCG appears to your left, Rod Laver Arena to your right, separated just by train and tram tracks. Surreal.A sun-drenched WACA•Abhishek Purohit/ESPNcricinfo LtdFebruary 23
Have heard a lot about the heat in Australia, and Adelaide did give a sampler, but Perth wins hands down first day with 41 degrees. A short walk feels like your insides will boil over. Turns out to be just a rude welcome, as Perth produces several lovely days. Mild, sunny, windy.February 24
At the eastern corner of the city centre, close to the Swan River, the WACA Ground stands proud against the backdrop of a fiery setting sun. It is deserted barring the odd employee. Best time to soak the image into your soul for a lifetime. The square. The outfield. The stands. The grassbanks. The dressing rooms. The old scoreboard. Those floodlight towers.February 25
Walk down to the riverfront from the ground. The Swan River turns into an estuary in Perth and is 4.5km at its widest point. Waves hit the shore gently. The sun sets in the direction of the Indian Ocean. The sky rapidly changes colour. The lights in the skyscrapers come on. The size of the river adds to the grandeur of the scene.February 26
Annalakshmi on the Swan, a south Indian vegetarian restaurant by the river jetty, becomes a favourite. Eat as much as you can, pay what you want to. Inspired by their spiritual guru, volunteers run the place. And the food is awesome. The taste of the mixed vegetable curry reminds you of the one at Ramanayak, a popular eatery in Matunga in Mumbai.February 27
“I don’t get it when people say Perth is a small city,” says old security guard at the WACA. “It does not have too many tall buildings. But if you see, there are lots that are ten to 12 storeys high. And it is a really spread-out city too.” Perth feels similar to Adelaide in that sense. The city centre looks smaller, though, and most of it shuts down earlier.February 28
The India v UAE game lasts just a little longer than one ODI innings. Mohammad Tauqir gets his press conference done with soon. We wait for MS Dhoni. And wait. India decide to play a game of football, and the captain is in the middle of the action. The India media manager watches from the sidelines. The ICC media manager tries to tell him people with deadlines are waiting, but gives up eventually. About an hour after he should have, Dhoni walks in. Not a single word from anyone about the delay.A brightly lit building during White Night festivities in Melbourne•Abhishek Purohit/ESPNcricinfo LtdMarch 1
Tour of Fremantle. Before that, the bus takes you up to King’s Park from where you can see how Perth stretches all around the Swan estuary. The wind blowing in from the Indian Ocean takes the name of the port town it passes through: Fremantle. Endearing little town centre. Old churches, synagogue, prison, markets, brewery. Take a cruise back up the river to Perth.March 2
Somalian cab driver talks mostly about pirates during the ten-minute ride. “They don’t target Indian or Pakistani ships. We have old links, are on other side of the Indian Ocean. They go for the American or Arab ones. Solid network. Very solid. They know exactly what items a ship is carrying.”Signs off with a gem. “Where I come from, you get bazookas everywhere. Boom!”March 3
Chief selector Rod Marsh and Michael Clarke stand together having a chat in the Australia nets. George Bailey watches keenly from a distance. Captain till not so long ago, now out of the XI. Finally decides to come up slowly. As he approaches, he walks carefully around Clarke while extending a swift handshake to Marsh standing further away. Awkward moment. But the two exchange half a smile after that.March 4
Two big buses waiting to drop media personnel off at designated points in the city after the Australia-Afghanistan game. Am the only one on this trip. “There were three people before you,” says the driver. Case of slight over-capacity here. He does not understand why the big eastern cities look down on Perth. Came here from Sydney himself. Has been a Perth resident for 14 years.March 6
One final time at one of the restaurants on the riverfront, the water shimmering in the sun. As it starts to set later, ground volunteers take a lap of the WACA during the India v West Indies innings break. Perth is done with the tournament. India are done with Australia for now. After three and a half months. Dhoni is asked about the New Zealand leg.”We go to Melbourne. From Melbourne we go to Auckland. From Auckland we drive to Hamilton and we reach at midnight. That will give us less time to think about cricket.” Long journey. Time to switch off. See you on the other side of the Tasman.
