Beer and barbies: how to watch a Test match for free
The Oval's best seating is not the only way to see the Ashes in comfort and style
- guardian.co.uk, Thursday 20 August 2009 21.42 BST
Mikey Stafford and new friends. Photograph: Tom Jenkins
Tickets have been sold out since November, touts encircle The Oval like close fielders and, according to the England and Wales Cricket Board, those who buy tickets from online exchanges risk ejection from the ground. But there are ways of watching the pivotal final Test for free. For some Kennington residents these five days are the culmination of years of foresight, for others it is a happy accident and for the lucky few it is just a perk of the job.
David Mortimer, the bursar at the neighbouring Archbishop Tenison's school, said he resisted the urge to watch more than five minutes of play in the morning session. Some of the eight staff had timed their lunch breaks to enjoy as much of England's first innings as possible.
"The A-level results are out today but students have been going to our sister school, as they will be for their GCSE results, to avoid having to place security on the front doors," said Mortimer.
As he looked out of a second-floor classroom window towards the Vauxhall End it was easy to see why ticketless punters would covet his view. Beyond a small tree 70% of the playing area can be seen – a section of the Pavilion End outfield is obscured by the scoreboard. Four years ago the final Test took place during term-time and Mortimer said the religious studies students occupying the room showed remarkable fortitude.
"The match was going on out of the window, but for the most part they looked straight ahead towards the teacher," he said. "Once school finished a few boys stayed behind to watch the rest of the day's play."
Brett Cassin of Adelaide does not quite share their diligence. Standing on the roof of the Oval Palace, where the 28-year-old has lived for two and a half years, he explained how he freed himself of responsibilities for the decisive Test.
"I quit my job yesterday and I'm about to go home to Australia so this is my last hurrah," said the engineer, while watching the morning session with a near complete view from the terrace apartment block that looms over the playing surface. Around 40 residents and their friends were enjoying a terrace party as they watched the cricket over the Peter May Stand while keeping one eye on the barbecues.
"I think you're closer here than you are up in the Great Southern Stand of the Melbourne Cricket Ground," said Cassin, who was joined by friends who had travelled from Adelaide especially for the Ashes.
Less committed was his neighbour Cassandra Yashpal and her Australian colleague Briley Myerscough. They have taken the weekend off but Yashpal is attending the V Festival and Myerscough, despite being a cricket fanatic, is off to Edinburgh tomorrow.
"I moved in three months ago and I was quite impartial to cricket, but after the Twenty20 I took quite a liking to it," said Yashpal, who reckoned arriving home to the dramatic denouement of an English victory on Monday would soothe her post-festival hangover.
It is no joke, but enjoying an unrestricted view towards the edge of the roof were an Englishman, an Irishman and a Scotsman: Ray Andrew from Reading, Alastair Close of Larne and Fife native Quentin McDonald. They had their free perches thanks to a friend who owns the penthouse apartment in the building, where flats are currently available via the estate agent Atkinson McLeod.
"In some ways this view is better than the view inside The Oval," said McDonald. "You've got your own private toilet, you can see the replay screen and we're cooking a barbecue later on."
Nearer to the pavilion is Lohmann House, where Chris Brown and Alex Hotz contentedly watched the afternoon's play from the window of Brown's ex-council flat. His timing was perfect: he only moved in two weeks ago. The view is exquisite and every blade of grass is visible from the third-floor living room window, which opens fully to allow the atmosphere and crowd noise to waft in.
"Supposedly people here rent out their flats for the five days for between £500 and £1,000," said Brown. "But we have only just moved in and anyway, I have a bachelor pad in which to watch cricket until my girlfriend gets home from work."
Test Match Special on the radio, Sky Sports on mute and, during the tea break, Nessun Dorma from the Oval PA system shakes the walls – it is hard to imagine a more perfect place to watch cricket.
- guardian.co.uk © Guardian News and Media Limited 2009
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