The New Nation - Internet Edition

AFP, Sydney

The new "Hill" stand at the Sydney Cricket Ground will be named after Victor Trumper, an Australian cricketing great of early last century, the SCG Trust said Thursday.

The 70 million dollar (66 million US) grandstand, with 8,700 under cover seats and built over what was once the iconic SCG Hill, will open in December ahead of the Test against South Africa starting on January 3.

Trumper was a peerless Test batsman with strong links to three football codes also played at the famous ground.

SCG Trust chairman Rod Cavalier said Trumper, who played 48 Tests from 1899 to 1912, deserved the honour ahead of other contenders, among them former Australian cricket captain Steve Waugh.

"Consider then that Vic played representative games of rugby union and Australian football (Aussie Rules) on our ground and was also instrumental in the establishment of rugby league in Australia," Cavalier said.

Trumper died of kidney failure in 1915 at the age of 37.

The Victor Trumper stand will increase the SCG's capacity to 47,000. Other stands at the ground are named after Australian Test cricket greats, Don Bradman, M.A. Noble and Bill "Tiger" O'Reilly.