After Flying Into Darwin, Aussie Cricket Fan Has His Mind Blown By Stadium Bar At Marrara Oval

CLANCY OVERELL | Editor | CONTACT

Australia has won the toss and is now batting first against Bangladesh in the first test cricket match to be held in Darwin in more than 20 years.

The humidity in the Northern Territory capital is currently 63% with a top of 31 degrees expected for day 1. Perfect beer drinking weather for all of those who've travelled. In fact, it's almost like it isn't winter at all.

And that's exactly why thousands of Aussie cricket die-hards have flown from the southern states to indulge in this rare experience of watching test cricket in the Top End with a both tropical atmosphere and certainly very tropical crowd.

With picnic chairs, milk crates, or simply just a grassy hill as seats - Darwin is currently the bucks party capital of the world.

But the southerners say they were definitely not prepared for what awaited them at the Marrara Stadium bar.

"A two litre beer" said one shell-shocked Sydney boy, Strath Field (48).

"Are you kidding me!? It's a handle of beer. Like a longneck but enough beer to fill a jerry can"

While iconic for tourist - 'The Darwin Stubby' is not a novelty. The 2-litre beer bottle was introduced by NT Draught in April 1958 to solve long-distance shipping logistics across the Northern Territory. Since then, it has gradually become a legitimate option for beer drinkers in the Top End.

For Sydneysiders and Victorians, full-strength beer is exotic enough - let alone 2000 millilitres of it in one vessel. A glass bottle at that.

As Travis Head takes to the crease, with a half hour time difference, the crowds in Darwin are getting stuck into their full-strength well before midday.

"Why not. When in Darwin I guess" said the enlightened visitor.