Gabba adventure reminds Archbishop of his playing days

Published: 18 November 2012
By: Paul Dobbyn

Time out: Archbishop Mark Coleridge relaxes at the Test between Australia and South Africa at the Gabba
Photo: Rene Marcel

ENTERING the Gabba for the first time to watch Australian and South African cricketers do battle in the First Test was like arriving in "a mythic landscape" for Archbishop Mark Coleridge recently.

For the Archbishop, who once linked his vocation to his cricket-playing days at university when he met inspirational priests including Fr Bob Maguire, the trip to the Gabba was a dream come true.

"I'd watched so many games from the Gabba on TV ... but here now was the real thing," he said.

"It's a magnificent arena and my first thought was that it's bigger than I imagined."

At the same time Archbishop Coleridge found the field "quite intimate".

"The field itself is as big as the MCG, but the stands make it feel less overwhelming," he said.

He said the weather was as splendid as his company on the day, and Australia was triumphant with the bat.

Explaining his great love of cricket, the Archbishop said "it's an almost contemplative experience where you enter another world".

"It also takes me back to my own playing days when I was a free-stroking though not always reliable opening batsman, a not always accurate off-break bowler and a very good catch in the slips."