Yrae Chronicles

Man it's been a long time since I used this icon. That man has not played cricket in about 15 years.

WE WON THE SHEFFIELD SHIELD!!!

The Sheffield Shield is our domestic long-form cricket competition, which mostly people don't much give a shit about (like they get an attendance of a dozen people through the season) but it is the competition that feeds into the Australian Test team, which is the absolute peak of cricket.

South Australia hasn't won the Sheffield Shield in 29 years. I was 10 the last time we won, and I didn't register it at all. Darren Lehmann, who was babby in that last winning team? His son, Jake, was 3 at the time. Jake was playing in this game. He scored a century in the first innings.

Full context, this has been really building up since we cemented our spot a the top of the ladder and hence hosting the final, which has been like three weeks. Before, even, since like halfway through the season and we were still top of the ladder. Even that is umprecedented. Like still trying not to count chickens etc, but omg hope was ignited. And then we got to host it, holy shit. EXCEPT. Because it's officially footy season now, the AFL decreed they couldn't play it at Adelaide Oval. I mean it's only been the home of cricket in SA for the last 155 years and we haven't hosted the Shield final in almost 30 but fine. FINE. It's FINE. Cricket Australia offered to reschedule it to starting on Monday so it'd have a scheduled finish of yesterday for the footy on Sunday, and the Adelaide Oval staff all said that'd be plenty of time to turn it around from cricket to footy, but nope. AFL said no. Arseholes. The Shield final has always been in March, it's the footy season that keeps getting longer and longer and encroaching on cricket season. We ALLOW you to play on Adelaide Oval in what is still CRICKET SEASON.

So anyway that spat has been dominating headlines since last week, so this final has been in the conscience for a while now. I do wonder if they'd have gotten the same attendance if that controversy hadn't happened. There were like 5000 people there. It was so great.

Anyway.

We'd been pretty much dominating since day one. Yesterday, the Queenslanders fought back somewhat and set us a target today of 270. Tricky in the final innings--the previous record winning run chase was like 200 or something?--and we lost three quick wickets in the first session of the day, but then Carey and Sangha dug in, each made a century, and WE WON. TWENTY NINE YEARS.

As soon as Sangha hit the winning runs, the crowd of about 5000 jumped the picket fence and stormed the ground, swarming the two players as they were laughing and celebrating. We all ran up to the stand where the players all were and waited for presentations. Which. I mean. Normally presentations are done on the ground but, considering how much they've been showing the crowd storming the ground after the 95/96 final win through the week, they really should've expected a pitch invasion. I do hope they prepared for this. Didn't look it but maybe they did, idk. Anyway, they moved all the cameras and presentation stuff up to the balcony, and every new prop that came out got a huge cheer. The Shield itself got a roar like the team had come out because that thing is OURS NOW. For the first time in almost THREE DECADES. The SACA staff who were bringing out all the stuff were laughing every time their movements got cheered. Like, Shield out, big cheer. Carry over to the stand, crowd builds with anticipation, "woahhhhhhhHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH EYYYYYY!!!" It was just so delightful, so much fun, so much excitement from the crowd.

Then the boys came out and they were so happyyyyy just looking out over THOUSANDS of people when they're used to like the echoing claps of like five people. And they each had their chance to raise their hands to the crowd and make us go WOOOO again.

omfg it was so much fun. SO MUCH FUN. I've never stormed the ground before, it was awesome 8D

Hopefully we don't have to wait until Jake Lehmann's son is playing until the next one XD

So yes, THAT. OH GOD IT WAS AMAZING. I know nobody on my flist will care but it's my sodding journal so there. I'm still grinning. That last over was EPIC. Every dot ball got cheered as though it was a wicket. Even the singles were applauded because it was still restricting them to less than what they needed. And oh god the NOISE. Slow clapping in for every ball from around the entire ground, and before the last ball the cry of "REDBACKS! *clapclapclap* REDBACKS! *clapclapclap*" which put any AFL chants of "ADELAIDE!" to shame. 10,000 people chanting all at once, even the members stand. It was just incredible. Reason I watch sport, ladies and gents.

AND THEN. LAST BALL. Two runs to win, one to tie. NOISE EVERYWHERE. There's no way the players could have heard each other shouting across the ground. I can't imagine the pressure the bowler must've been feeling, but HE DID IT. Restricted them to that one run, and because we'd finished the season at the top of the ladder, that meant we WON THE TOURNAMENT OMFG.

The sheer joy on all their faces. Jumping up and down like maniacs, waving fists and stumps in the air and just basically going "YEAAAHHHH" at the crowd and alskjghask I love my boys.

Michael Klinger, the captain, thanked us all in the presentations at the end, and from the grin and completely unprepared way he was saying it, bloody obvious he meant it. They were just all so happy and ecstatic and eeeeee!

They absolutely revelled in it. They all came around to do a circuit or two of the Oval afterwards, some running around the boundary giving high-fives to the crowd, at least half stopping for autographs and photos and hugs and general words of congratulations. I got a hug from Cameron Borgas, who had been fielding in front of me for the innings. He was fun :D There was one point where he sorta fumbled a boundary save a bit, so it bounced right up over his head and he was scrabbling over the ground to stop it going for four and generally looking very undignified. He laughed at himself when they replayed it on the big screen, though X3 And yaknow, that save ended up saving the game, so WOO!

I got autographs from several of them, hugs from, as I say, Borgas and Crosthwaite, the wicket keeper, and photo with Crosthwaite, too, and they were all just so happy and, dare I say it of grown sportsmen, squee. THEY JUST WERE OKAY.

Just amazing. I love those boys so much. Beware the parochial South Australian X3

( PHOTOS )

No sporting event I've ever been to--or, likely, ever will be to--could possibly top that. And I was there when we beat Geelong, and various other amazing cricket and footy wins. Seriously, nothing will top last night. It was epic.

I squeed <3

We went to the cricket last night! A Twenty20 between SA and Queensland, always exciting. It's nice to actually go to a cricket match when we win, the Redbacks have been a bit crap for so long. So yes :D Admittedly the Queenslanders probably had other things on their mind, but still, much fun!

Umm... My day was insane. Somehow managed to get everything sorted before the weekend so it's not hanging over my head when I get back on Monday, but omfg. TGIF, you guys =(