CRICKET enthusiasts were among the first settlers in South Australia. Efforts to form cricket clubs were made in 1836, and the first recorded match was played in 1839. To begin with, cricket was played among the cows in the parklands, but in 1859 the South Australian Club leased and fenced off six acres. This was the genesis of the Adelaide Oval. In 1871 the South Australian Cricket Association was formed, and improved the playing area of the Oval, but was not granted the lease until 1872. The twelve acres which they rented has become "a sporting area which only one other ground in the world can match for the splendour of its setting."

During the century since then, the Adelaide Oval has been an arena on which all the giants of cricket have played. At first, matches were somewhat informal. Cricketers helped to roll the pitch, cricket writers dismissed the players with such forthright comments as "Wretched fieldsman," and Dr Grace protested loudly when he was caught for six. But the Oval saw its first Test Match in 1884 and its first Sheffield Shield matches in the 1890s, and cricket began to attract huge crowds. They went wild with joy when South Australia defeated the Englishmen in 1893, and such men as Giffen, Lyons, Jarvis and Darling were the heroes of the State.

Before and after the first World War, the Oval was the scene of countless incidents which ranged from the dramatic to the farcical. It saw the rise of many great cricketers including Vic Richardson, Victor Trumper, Clem Hill, Sir Donald Bradman, and Clarrie Grimmett. In 1933, it witnessed one of cricket's greatest controversies: the first "bodyline" match. Over the years since then, cricket on the Adelaide Oval has lost none of its drama and colour, with the years after the second World War providing a new galaxy of great players.

With precision and affection, Sidney Downer has written a book in which every cricket fan will revel for its lively, witty evocation of so many memorable moments during the first century of the Adelaide Oval.