From The Cathedral To The City End

We do not presume …

This song is an abstract homage to a Holy Trinity of influence on my life; Test Cricket, Adelaide Oval, and St Peters Cathedral (Anglican Church).

I’ve been wanting to capture the spirit of Test Cricket in song for a while but with the mission of crafting a South Australian-influenced song every week for Richard Pascoe’s program on FIVEaa, and with the impending interview with the “other Steve Davis” aka retired cricket umpire, Steve Davis, it was all brought to a (Travis) Head.

I deliberately did not untangle cricket played at Adelaide Oval from the religious undertones of the “cathedral end” in the City of Churches, nor from the profoundly deep and all engrossing, five-day ordeal known as a “Test” Match.

It’s a short step from religious motifs to the “spirit” of the game, with that aspect brought into focus by former SAS operator-turned-psychologist, Harry Moffitt, in his book, The Fourth Pillar. In it, he reflects on Pat Cummin’s chance NOT to enforce the appeal in the Jonny Bairstow stumping at Lord’s in 2023. Moffitt argues that while the stumping was legally out, his reading of the “spirit” of the game was such that our captain could have restored the reputation of the Australian Cricket Team (tarnished by the sandpaper incident in Cape Town in 2018) by allowing the Englishman to stay on the ground. He laments that there was a chance missed to be known as Gentleman Pat, whether or not it cost Australia the game.

And that raises the other quirk of cricket, and Test Cricket in particular. Even though us Aussies root hard for our team, we do applaud and even cheer when an opposition player performs an amazing feat, even if it costs us a game. We are not orphans, most cricket fans live by this ethic. You only have to have a small taste of what it is like, out in the centre, with very hard balls being bowled at you with blistering speed or mesmerising spin, with your body and bat and a little protective clothing standing between you and great pain or great triumph, to empathise with players from any team.

A few other observations get whirled into this song, from the ritual of preparing for a day at the cricket to my bemusement over how little cricket many SACA members actually watch. If I were ruler of the world, I would means test these precious memberships to ensure patrons achieved an 85% or 90% balls-watched threshold. Failure to do so would get them access only to the “village green” at the back of the oval, freeing up seats for those of us not from private schools, to buy a membership and thoroughly immerse ourselves in this important, err, game (such a cheap word compared to the majesty of Test Cricket).

Finally, if you were not brought up in an Anglican household and exposed to the 1662 Book Of Common Prayer for the first decade or so of your life, you might not be familiar with the Prayer Of Humble Access, which I have modified for the opening to the song. Here is the original prayer for your reference:

We do not presume to come to this thy Table, O merciful Lord, trusting in our own righteousness, but in thy manifold and great mercies. We are not worthy so much as to gather up the crumbs under thy Table. But thou art the same Lord, whose property is always to have mercy: Grant us therefore, gracious Lord, so to eat the flesh of thy dear Son Jesus Christ, and to drink his blood, that our sinful bodies may be made clean by his body, and our souls washed through his most precious blood, and that we may evermore dwell in him, and he in us. Amen.

And as you’ll see in the raw scratchings below, this song was an elaborate process of blocking, hitting without running, close calls, and then a few boundaries. Patience was required.

From The Cathedral To The City End Raw Scratchings

From The Cathedral To The City End Lyrics

[Intro]
We do not presume to come to this Thy oval
Trusting in our own righteousness
We are not worthy so much as to watch
From under the scoreboard upon the grass
But Thou art the same great game
Whose nature is to show us mercy
So grant us, therefore, gracious game
To witness the contest emerging ….

[Verse 1]
Hours before proceedings commence
There are sandwiches thoughtfully made
He’ll push in as close as he can to the fence
With a hat giving just enough shade

[Verse 2]
The ladies and gents on the village green
Put down their glasses and glance at the screen
A roar from the oval, a round of applause
Was it a wicket or was it a four?

[Chorus]
Bowl at their feet
Bowl at their head
Bowl at their chest
Fill them with dread
Two thousand balls
Two thousand trials
Could be a wicket
Or hit for miles
Concentrate
For no two are the same
This is a test match
Not just a game
From the cathedral to the city end
May cricket bring us together again
For ever and ever and ever and ever
Amen

[Verse 3]
When Donald Bradman would stride to the crease
A hush fell upon this hallowed ground
Most work in the city would instantly cease
Adelaide converged for something profound

[Verse 4]
The Devil played cricket back in ’33
And ruptured its spirit with body line
But it can’t be dismissed, not that easily
When each batter puts it all on the line

[Bridge]
And then when there is
A contentious appeal
The members go quiet
There’s noise from the hill
And every god hears
Demands far and near
For the wicket denied
Or a finger pointed to the sky

[Verse 5]
There’s a cricket-shaped hole inside of us all
And you can’t fill it with rituals or prayers
But here in the City of Churches’ great hall
We all join as one in the clean open air

[Verse 6]
Pilgrims are welcomed from all round the world
And they know that we don’t want them to win
But if they score tons or win very well
They know our cheering will add to the din

Listen To From The Cathedral To The City End