One of Queensland’s premier sporting facilities will host two men’s ODI cricket matches this week on Friday August 22 and Sunday August 24 for the first time since 1992. 

Great Barrier Reef Arena, located in northern Queensland city Mackay, is expecting monster crowds for the historic occasion between Australia and South Africa - some 33 years after it first gained global recognition. 

Incredibly, the only men's ODI match at the venue came back during the 1992 ODI World Cup between India and Sri Lanka with the game washed out just two balls in despite the best efforts of the groundstaff to dry the outfield. The 10,000 capacity venue previously hosted five international women’s cricket matches to great success, three WODIs and two WT20Is, the last fixtures back in September, 2024.

The venue has also hosted AFLW matches involving the Gold Coast Suns as well as domestic cricket such as Sheffield Shield and WBBL and is expected to play a key role in the 2032 Olympic Games, particularly pending cricket’s inclusion with the stadium undergoing stage 2 redevelopments amidst the Queensland Government’s plan to host the tournament at the venue alongside the Gabba.

Great Barrier Reef Arena head grounds manager and pitch curator Peter Kazakoff, who spent nearly two decades plying his trade in Brisbane at the Gabba as a groundsperson, said it was an exciting time for the city to host men’s international matches.

Kazakoff is leading a crew of six in preparing the pitch and surface this week, as well as five other sporting fields in the mega complex.

“It’s great, it’s a massive occasion for the venue and for the region being the first international match since the 1992 World Cup,” he said. 

Kazakoff said a cooler climate had provided some challenges but the team were well prepared and working diligently.

“Our season pretty much runs 10 months a year so we sort of finish in April and get going again in early August so we’ve already had a T20 tournament and Australia A and India A played women’s Twenty20s recently so it’s been a busy month,” he said.

“The two men’s ODIs are here now so it’s been flat stick. The biggest challenge for us has been that the climate has been quite cool, it’s been a really cold winter and it’s still been down to single digits at stages so getting the grass to move is the big challenge.”

Great Barrier Reef Arena has five pitches in the wicket-table, all Legend couch grass with Kazakoff believing the wicket to be used for the ODI series would provide an even contest between bat and ball.

“We sealed the wicket last Sunday, I probably knew we were going to use this specific wicket for a good five weeks now,” he said.

“You want to score in ODIs so you’d want the pitch to have even pace and bounce. With this caliber of match you want to limit the sideways movement of the ball so they can follow through with their shots. You want a great score.”

On game day, he said the crew would put the finish touches on the pitch to ensure it is in world-class condition.

“We’ll come in game day morning and try and take as much grass off as we can. We want to get it rock hard and try to get as much grass off as we can, give it a good roll and try and get the pitch hard and see how it goes,” he said.

Story by Nick Creely/Pictures supplied by Peter Kazakoff