Fashions of the Field

Forget the clock's move to daylight saving, the first action of summer is the opening day of the Gabba Test, which Ricky Ponting rates as the high point of the season. Queensland remains an hour behind the other eastern states, and questions are still being asked about their backward sense of fashion. Spectators filed in through the Stanley and Vulture Street turnstiles, celebrating a sweaty morning and dressed for a stadium barbecue.

Ponting, the first player on the catwalk for the toss with Stephen Fleming, presented himself in the new-look captain's blazer. Baggy green with gold piping along the collar, cuffs and lapels, the jacket is a return to early-20th-century tradition. He was the hottest man on the field, and a little over-dressed. But, like golf courses, cricket grounds are perfect venues to cheer outlandish attire.

At the Gabba, shorts, T-shirts and shoes sometimes feel like too much effort. Suits are a luxury item in the November humidity, and are restricted to officials and the corporate levels. Richie Benaud complained to Ian Chappell that "there wasn't much choice" about his diagonally striped tie - a mix of dark blue, light blue and yellow, as also worn by Ian Smith.

By far the most stylish person at the ground was Barbara Brown, the wife of Bill, Australia's oldest living Test player at 92. Mrs Brown, who would have challenged in the Fashions of the Field at Flemington, looked stunning in a pink dress and hat as she accompanied her husband to lunch. Brown captained his only Test against New Zealand in 1945-46, and stopped briefly as he was guided towards the Cricketers' Club. He wishes he could get to the ground more often.

Outside the air-conditioning, lawn-mowing garb is more appropriate and the day's important decision is sun-protection or sunburn. The First-Day-of-the-First-Test Team chose the shade and donned blue stubbies singlets, but their pre-match ritual was copied by few. A kilted member of the team explained: "We met at 7am and had two raw sausages, two raw eggs and a litre from the juice jug."

Behind the bowler's arm was a collection of mock road-gang workers wearing fluorescent vests. The fancy-dress parade also included devils, Mexicans and a large number of Kiwis booing the dismissal of Mathew Sinclair. Schoolchildren belted each other with blow-up cheerleading toys alongside New Zealand fans wearing retro beige World Series Cup uniforms. The costume is both boring and charming, unlike the modern pyjamas of Australia, which are glary in the extreme, and perfect attire for the Gabba.