WACA Ground

Lore & Background

The WACA has been referred to as Western Australia's 'home of cricket' since the early 1890s, with Test cricket played at the ground since the 1970–71 season. The ground is the home venue of Western Australia's first-class cricket team, the Western Warriors, and the state's Women's National Cricket League side, the Western Fury. The Perth Scorchers, a Big Bash League franchise, played home matches at the ground until 2019. The Scorchers and Australian national team have shifted most matches to the nearby 60,000-seat Perth Stadium. The pitch at the WACA is regarded as one of the quickest and bounciest in the world. These characteristics, in combination with the afternoon sea-breezes which regularly pass the ground (the Fremantle Doctor), have historically made the ground an attractive place for pace and swing bowlers. The outfield is exceptionally fast, contributing to the ground seeing some very fast scoring; as of February 2016, three of the nine fastest Test centuries have been scored at the WACA. Throughout its history, the ground has also been used for a range of other sports, including athletics carnivals, Australian rules football, baseball, soccer, rugby league, rugby union, and international rules football; however, recent years have seen most of these activities relocated to other venues. It has also been used for major rock concerts. The WACA Museum is located on-site and features exhibits about Western Australian cricket.

Reader's Guide

The WACA ground, like many stadiums of its era, has undergone various re-developments. The most notable are: the building, in 1895, of the first grandstand; seating 500 people and incorporating dressing rooms, a dining room, bathrooms, members' rooms and bars. In 1931 the Farley Stand was opened, named after W.J. Farley. In 1948 the scoreboard at the WACA was destroyed by a storm. In 1954 a replacement scoreboard was built, a donation from the North West Murchison Cricket Association; this, now iconic, scoreboard remains in operation. In the 1960s the Players Pavilion was built. Additional seating was later added, initially to accommodate the first Test match to be played at the WACA (Australia v England in 1970). Also to welcome Test cricket to the WACA, 1970 saw the opening of the 'Test Stand'. It was later renamed the Inverarity Stand. From 1984 to 1988 the WACA underwent major renovations, including a realignment and a complete resurfacing of the ground and the construction of new terracing and seating in the outer. Also built were: the three-tiered Prindiville Stand, named after the then WACA president Bernie Prindiville in 1985; the two-tiered Lillee-Marsh Stand named after Dennis Lillee and Rod Marsh in 1988, which increased the ground's seating capacity. Six large light towers were also installed in 1986 at a cost of $4.2 million, allowing for night-time sports such as day-night cricket matches to be played at the ground. An icon of the WACA, the floodlights are 70 metres high and cost $600 per hour to run. These redevelopments also made the venue an attractive venue for sports other than cricket, and it was during the late 1980s and early 1990s that the ground saw its greatest use as a multi-sports venue. From 1987 to 2000, the ground was used by the West Coast Eagles, and from 1995 by the Fremantle Dockers, both Western Australian-based AFL teams. 72 AFL matches were held at the ground during this time. From 1995 to 1997 the WACA also served as the home ground for the Western Reds rugby league team. In the late 1990s the ground played host to the Perth Heat in the former Australian Baseball League (1989-1999). However, for various reasons, these sports moved away from the WACA (in the case of night football, to Subiaco Oval), and as a consequence, the WACA was again redeveloped in 2002.

Did You Know?

• The WACA's floodlights are 65 metres high, not 70 metres as sometimes reported.
• The first turf wicket at the WACA was laid by William Henry Wise, a gardener who came to WA from England in 1880.
• The WACA has a 999-year lease over the land, which expires in 2888.