Yabba

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Stephen Harold Gascoigne, better known as Yabba, (March 19, 1878, Redfern, Sydney - January 8, 1942 in Lidcombe, Sydney) was an Australian sports fan, well known as a heckler at Sydney Cricket Ground cricket and rugby league games in the early part of the 20th century. Yabba was known for his knowledgeable witticisms shouted loudly from "The Hill", a grassy general admissions area of the SCG.

"The Hill" area was replaced with seating in the early 1990's. The new stand was then formally named Yabba's Hill in honour of his colourful comments, several of which have passed into cricketing folklore.

Back in Yabba's days, cricket matches were treated like tennis matches, and games at the SCG were much more quiet than today. This is the reason why Yabba's comments were so clearly heard by players and other spectators.

Some of Yabba's best remembered insults include:

• "I wish you were a statue and I were a pigeon."
• Telling a fly-swatting English cricket captain, Douglas Jardine, to "Leave our flies alone. They're the only friends you've got here.".
• "Send 'im down a piano, see if 'e can play that!"
• "O for a strong arm and a walking stick!" (at bad bowling; leg spinner Arthur Mailey, a regular victim of this one, quotes it several times in his book 10 for 66 and All That)
• "Those are the only balls you've touched all day!" (To an English batsman adjusting his box in between overs.)

[edit] References

• The Oxford Companion to Australian Cricket