First cricket match on McKay Oval, 22 October 1932

Ken Andrews (Headmaster 1955-1963) was the coach of the 1st XI cricket team in 1932. He recalled the first match on McKay Oval:

By the Autumn of 1932 a football field was ready for use in Centennial Park and a turf wicket had been laid down. The ground was first used for football on June 11, 1932, when High were at home for a match with the Armidale School. As the second half of the cricket competition loomed ahead, we were pleased to inform the GPS Cricket committee that in future our home matches would be played on our new ground in Centennial Park.

Of course there were still difficulties to be overcome at that stage: there was no pavilion - the best we could do was to provide a tent for the teams; lunch was served at the school, and cars had to be provided to transport the teams there and back. Above all, the wicket had been hastily constructed and was not only very new but untested and unproved. The first match took place in October when we played St Ignatius College. During that game and the two which followed, the pitch played unevenly, the ball sometimes keeping low, sometimes rearing up dangerously. It was clear to me that the wicket was not going to improve with use. The upshot was that R T McKay and C A Fairland reluctantly agreed to my suggestion that the Curator of the Sydney Cricket Ground be asked to examine and report on the wicket. On his expert advice, one end of the wicket was dug up and relaid with the proper Toongabbie soil. This work was promptly carried out, but the wicket could not be ready for play until the Spring of 1933, and that meant that for the first half of the 1933 Competition, we had to revert to the old arrangement, playing all matches away from home.