Mackay's First Test Match Sells Out on Historic Day One

Barry Jansen mortgaged his house in the late 1980s to save a cricket field and kept it secret from his wife for five years.

More than 40 years later, that same field in Mackay, Queensland just hosted the city's first international Test cricket match between Australia and Bangladesh. Day one sold out completely, making Great Barrier Reef Arena at Harrup Park the 12th Australian venue to host Test cricket.

The story starts in 1939 when local farmers bought a cow paddock for 1,000 pounds to start a cricket club. By the late 1980s, the Mackay cricket association needed to expand but had no money to pay groundskeepers.

Three members took an extraordinary risk. They mortgaged their homes to secure a bank loan and government grant for the expansion.

Jansen finally told his wife about the mortgage five years later. "I was very, very fortunate," he said, calling the park "like one of the family."

The grandstands and hills packed with fans from across Australia and Mackay's 32 Bangladeshi families waving flags and placards. "It doesn't matter if Bangladesh are playing or not, we're always watching," said local resident Shagufta Hasan, who described herself as a "true cricket lover."

The Ripple Effect

The historic match created opportunities beyond the field. Mel Dwyer, a local mom who started scoring cricket games 12 years ago to stay focused while watching her child play, served as one of two official Cricket Australia scorers for the Test.

"I never thought in my wildest dreams that I would be working in cricket and scoring Test matches," she said. Dwyer grew up in a house full of memorabilia celebrating Sir Donald Bradman but never imagined turning that passion into reality.

Head curator Peter Kazakoff said the pitch uses the same clay soil as the famous Gabba stadium in Brisbane. "We've gone from being a country cricket ground to an international test cricket venue," he said. "It's quite remarkable."

What started as three families risking everything for a dream now gives an entire region something to celebrate together.