Brisbane ('Gabba')

Palns for a ground at Woollongabba (hence 'The Gabba') had been afoot since the end of the 19th Century, but it wasn't until 1931 that the ground took over from The Exhibition Ground as Brisbane's new Test venue (England's only foray at the Exhibition had come three years earlier when Percy Chapman's tourists scraped home by a mere 675 runs; those indeed were the days). The Gabba was a humble enough venue for many years but serious development in the early 1970s saw a new grandstand built, and the ground is now the regular venue for the opening Test in Australia's homes series; they have a good record there too, with an unbeaten record which stretches back 14 Tests to 1988.