On the Road Again; Et Al heads to Darwin for the start of historic Test stretch
PL has packed and is on a plane to meet Gideon for the first of 20-21 Test matches
Et Al is back on the road. And not a day too soon, as this break since the last Test at the SCG has been a long one. Too long.
That said, it’s an epic journey we’re all setting out upon, one that begins in Darwin on Thursday and concludes 20 Tests and 12 months later with the fifth and final Test of the 2027 Ashes. It will be 21 if the Australians make the World Test Championship next year.
Not only is that a lot of cricket, but it’s also a lot of travel. Following the two matches against Bangladesh in Darwin and Mackay, the team travels to South Africa for three more, then it’s home for four against New Zealand, over to India in January for five Tests, back home for a one-off sesquicentennary game at the MCG before the WTC final in England and a five-match Ashes which will be complete by August next year.
Et Al has resolved to be there every step of the way with the Australian men’s team; we might be further back on the plane, and that will be us walking to the ground as the tour bus zooms past, but we will not be letting this mob out of our sights.
Gideon is already in Darwin, or should be. He was sounding relatively calm as the airport bus rattled its way out to Tullamarine despite only learning in the previous 12 hours that his flight was Monday, not Tuesday, as he thought.
Thank god he checked.
I’ve packed a kilogram of Double Tap’s finest coffee, and Brickfields toasted muesli for the early starts. The team travels with at least two espresso machines; we make do with an Aeropress.
We’ve both booked our flights for October’s South African tour, which will be our first time in that country together and my first visit since an eventful 2018 tour where, while most of Australia slept unaware of what had happened, I was prompted to ask Steve Smith and Cameron Bancroft if they could “explain to us what we saw on the television cameras out there today and what has happened since”.
Our old friend at The Times, Simon Wilde, reported on the weekend that “no team in history has played so many Tests within a 12-month period” and speculates that this Test cricket ultramarathon could “break Australian bodies and mean they arrive at Trent Bridge in mid-June weary in mind and muscle”.
He’s right. The Australians face an enormous task, and given the advanced age of the squad, it’s one that is going to challenge body and spirit.
Covering cricket on the road isn’t quite as demanding as playing it, but it’s an exciting task we’ve got in front of us. I think I can safely say that Et Al is the only outlet sending its two senior cricket correspondents for the Bangladesh and South African tours. Presumably it will be the same story on the others, should the almighty and our subscribers grant us the good health to be at the grounds for all 20-21 matches.
Test cricket is our happy place, and it’s good to be returning.
Your support in all of this is critical.
Those with financial subscriptions help us to cover the expense of the planes, hotels and meals when we’re on the road.
More important than that is the sense that you trust us to keep you informed and up to date. It swells the heart to read your comments and see your engagements on Substack. We treasure the company of so many like-minded and good-willed cricket people. Your feedback nourishes us. Something that was definitely not the case when we worked in newspapers!
A good showing from the village turned up two weeks ago for The Chappell Foundation annual dinner and were a critical part of the charity raising over $350,000 for homeless youth. On the odd occasion we get our act together enough to do a live event, as we did at the Wheeler Centre and the Akasha brewery earlier this year, you turn up in droves, wearing the T-shirts and keen to reminisce about train trips in India and wrong turns at Leeds.
If you aren’t a subscriber, or have let your subscription slip during the downtime, we ask you to consider becoming financial. There is, in my opinion, nobody better at covering the game than Gideon, which helps us here at Et Al deliver the highest quality cricket reportage - with some chaotic podding thrown in for good measure (free of charge). It costs money to do this stuff properly. Lots of people can and do cover cricket from home, but if you are serious you have to get on a plane and book a room to be there for the conversations on the sidelines at training, the whispers from warm-ups in the mornings and the “you didn’t hear this from me, but …" around town at night.
Part of the fun we’ve discovered since starting Et Al is running into subscribers on the road.
There’s a strong connection there.
In the last week I’ve received two detailed lists of places to go in Darwin from subscribers. Ian Satchwell, who we met in India on the 2023 tour, suggests: Darwin Ski Club, Thursday night; Mindil Beach markets, Saturday morning; Parap Markets, Trader Bar; Hanuman restaurant; Darwin RSL and others. Mark Drumgold, a regular and informative correspondent, suggests a shopping list of suggestions including Shennanigans, which is some sort of Irish pub. That will work if they have 0% Guinness for Gids. He’s also recommended something called the Buffalo Hunters Club, the Darwin Railway Club and the Hidden Valley Drag Racing Association “Nitro Up North” nights with detailed instructions on how to get to each.
Last time I was in Darwin was 1995, Paul Keating was Prime Minister, Pakistan beat Australia at the SCG, and I couldn’t be there because the Daily Telegraph had sent me north to cover an emerging uptick in refugee boat arrivals. I’m assuming things have changed a bit in the past 30 years.
Mark advises further: “Pest repellent, broad-brimmed hat and sunscreen a must. If not hiring car get weekly rather than daily bus pass.” Sensible people would buy a bus pass, but at Et Al we figure anywhere within about a 7.5 km radius is walking distance.
If you are in Darwin or Mackay, come and say hello. If you can’t be there we’ll do our best to keep you up to date from the scene. If you are not a financial subscriber, now might be a good time to saddle up.
If you are one of the paid-up members of the village, we couldn’t do it without you.
Thank you.
Pete