Many uses for Manuka, cricket included

Times Media

TELFORD VICE, Brisbane

COLONISING captain James Cook used manuka leaves to make tea. Sawdust from the wood of the tree is used to impart flavour to meat being smoked. Manuka honey, from New Zealand, is prized worldwide.

In Canberra, manuka has lent its name to a cricket ground: Manuka Oval is where SA play Ireland in a World Cup match starting in the early hours of Tuesday morning (SA time).

It has been a cricket ground since 1929, but the first one-day international played there was a southern African derby between SA and Zimbabwe in the 1992 World Cup.

The stands hold just 13 550. That makes it a cosy cricket cupboard compared to the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), where 100 024 can squeeze in on a busy day.

However, the playing area at Manuka is bigger than at the MCG. Manuka measures 179 metres by 150, with the MCG weighing in at 173 by 148.

But Manuka was not big enough to hold West Indian Chris Gayle last Tuesday, when he launched Zimbabwe’s bowlers for 215 on a willing pitch and a slick outfield.

In fact, Manuka Oval could be the fastest thing about Canberra. As one reporter covering the World Cup said, it’s a “two-night town”. Another offered a more succinct summing up: “Potch.”

Canberra is Australia’s parliamentary capital and the seat of its high court, and where the national gallery, national museum and national library are.

The city started becoming all that in 1908 as a compromise in a fight between Sydney and Melbourne about where the federal capital should be. Little has changed in the ensuing 107 years. Canberra still seems to be a place people live and work not because they want to, but because they have to.

Manuka Oval ODIs - 6 (March, 1992 - February, 2015)

Highest total: 372/2 (West Indies v Zimbabwe - February 24, 2015)

Lowest total: 162 (Afghanistan v Bangladesh - February 18, 2015)

Highest score: Chris Gayle 215 (West Indies v Zimbabwe - February 24, 2015)

Best bowling: Mitchell Starc 4/32 (Australia v SA - November 19, 2014)