The iconic WACA scoreboard has been given a dream 60th birthday present – a guarantee it will continue to be used for years to come.
The WACA have introduced an electronic scoreboard at the ground this summer, which can display scores as well as show TV replays.
But WACA chief executive Christina Matthews says there are no plans to stop using the manual scoreboard, which takes seven people to operate for Shield matches and eight people for Tests or one-dayers.
“We can see it in operation for many years to come. We have no plans to change it in Shield cricket,” Matthews said on Monday.
“The feedback we’ve had this year is people have loved the new modern scoreboard working in unison with the old scoreboard.
“It’s an iconic part of WA, not just the WACA.”
The WACA’s original scoreboard was destroyed in a storm in 1948.
A shortage of supplies following WWII resulted in a delay in erecting a new one, until the Nor-West Murchison Cricket Association raised more than $4000 of the required $7137 to have the new scoreboard built six years later.
The scoreboard was completed and operating in time for use in the February 19-23 Shield clash between WA and Victoria in 1954.
Scoreboard operator Reg Gates has been in the job for more than 25 years.
He’s loved working with the scoreboard, but former England superstar Kevin Pietersen probably wasn’t the biggest fan.
“Every time Pietersen came out here, we’d always get his name wrong,” Gates said with a laugh.
“I still don’t know whether his name finishes as ‘en’ or ‘on’.
“But each time, we had it the wrong way around.
“We’d go put the plate up, and someone would say, ‘Spelt wrong again’.
“So we’d have to paint the ‘e’ or the ‘o’ out. I think we did that three Test matches in a row. And I’m still not sure if it’s ‘en’ or ‘on’.”