Christmas Test a window to the world as Australia reels in wake of Bondi atrocity | Barney Ronay

Adelaide reflects a nation’s state of slow-motion shock after Sydney shootings leave the country irrevocably changed

The third Ashes Test in Adelaide will not be the first to take place in the shadow of modern-day acts of terror. The 2005 series in England began two weeks after the 7 July London bombings, which killed 52 people. Day one at Lord’s coincided with an aborted follow-up atrocity that failed only because of the incompetence of those involved. Twenty years on, after the murder of at least 15 people at Bondi beach on Sunday during a Hanukah celebration, the most heinous act of terror on Australian soil, the Australian government has bolstered its security operation for Adelaide.

There are practical consequences. Entry to the ground will take longer than usual. The recently formed armed Security Response Section will patrol the Oval’s beautifully green-tinged surrounds. The match was likely, at time of writing, to begin with a “moment of reflection” led by the premier of South Australia, Peter Malinauskas.