Sandip Hor
It’s perhaps for the first time in the recent period that former Aussie fast bowler Glen McGrath is not present at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) on the third day of the New Year test cricket match to spearhead the fundraising for the McGrath Foundation. This year he is driving the noble cause from India, where he’s commentating on the current Australia-India cricket series.
Started in 2005 by the cricketing great and his English wife Jane following her diagnosis with breast cancer, this charitable organisation funds breast care nurses who support individuals and their families experiencing breast cancer by providing physical, psychological and emotional support from the time of diagnosis, throughout treatment.
Jane died in 2008 and since then the test match at the SCG has been marked as the Pink Test with the arena exhibiting a pink look. Everywhere a tinge of pink can be seen, from the hoardings and electronics around the stadium to the stumps in the ground. As a token of support, the whites of the players have a pink emblem and the umpire’s hat is tied with a pink ribbon..
Over the past 13 years, this event has become a national phenomenon and the nation’s largest sporting fundraising initiative with support from the entire cricket clan, both on and off the field. More than AUD1.2 million was raised last year from the Pink Test.
The pinkness is loudest on the third day of play, traditionally at the SCG called Ladies Day now renamed as the Jane McGrath Day when the arena turns into a sea of pink with almost every spectator wearing something pink, some even dressed in hot pink three piece suits or cover head with pink wigs or pink scarfs. Even some of the patrolling police person bring in pink to their normal blue uniforms. On this day philanthropy becomes no less important than the actions inside the ground.
Unfortunately due to COVID-19 restrictions this year the number of spectators were capped at 25% of the usual capacity. So the pinkness at the stands hasn’t been the usual, but no change towards the spirit for the cause within the cricketing world. While the players from both teams donated their pink caps to go for auction, cricketing legend Sachin Tendulkar extended his support for the cause by gifting his India Test jersey to McGrath. The caps and Tendulkar’s jersey will be auctioned by the McGrath Foundation in due course.