PREFACE

"The Diary" column in the Sydney Morning Herald of the 7th November's 2011, perfectly encapsulated the big day with their article: "Tubby Goes To Ground" and we can think of no bettter introduction to our Mark Taylor Oval Page:

"Years ago, if you had overheard the words Mark Taylor Oval you might have thought you were hearing no more than a terse description of the former Australian cricket team captain's undisputedly generous dimensions. Yesterday the words assumed a more dignified context as Waitara Oval was formally renamed Mark Taylor Oval, in the presence of the Premier, Barry O'Farrell, and Hornsby mayor, Nick Berman. ''It was a huge turnout, hundreds of people here, the biggest crowd since 1992,'' Berman told us. On that day Taylor and Adam Gilchrist had turned out for Northern District against Bankstown, who fielded Steve and Mark Waugh.

The renaming of the oval almost never happened. A long-running rumble between Hornsby and Canada Bay councils as to whether Waitara or Drummoyne Oval would be blessed by Taylor's name was only resolved, and not easily, late last year. Berman was very pleased it came Waitara's way, as he feels the culture Taylor found when he came to Northern District as a teenager help shaped him as person and as a cricketer - a player, who, as the Premier noted yesterday, was known not just for his skill but his sportsmanship. ''He came here [from Wagga] as a 16-year-old, and he was given an opportunity at that age, and exposed to that culture. The naming of the oval is a reflection of the efforts of the local community.''"