Test is a window to the world after Bondi attack leaves nation reeling

Adelaide reflects a state of slow-motion shock after the Sydney shootings which have left the country altered

- Barney Ronay

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 followup 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 in Australia's history, 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.

In the days since Sunday Australia has felt, even in its round-the-clock live reporting of leads and details, like a place in a state of slow-motion shock. There were initially some suggestions the Christmas Test might be cancelled or postponed. But as the state police commissioner, Grant Stevens, said on the eve of the match, Sydney is being seen as a distinct event. “We don't have any information whatsoever that indicates there's a linkage between what happened in Bondi on the weekend and South Australia.”