Quiet, old St Andrews may not seem like the place that an international grudge would germinate especially one in cricket.
But the town, situated in the heart of Courier Country, spawned an England captain who is held largely responsible for creating one of the greatest sporting rivalries on earth.
Indeed, if there was any doubt of the tensions between England and Australia, it was eclipsed during this weekend’s ICC World Cup 2015 game.
To understand the rivalry that caused such glee among Australians when their team triumphed on Sunday, we need to travel back more than 100 years to, ironically, the Home of Golf.
It was around this time 1909 to be precise that Douglas Jardine made his home in St Andrews.
Originally born in India, he settled into North-East Fife well and it was in The Kingdom that his (soon to be infamous) cricketing talents were born.
Infamous, you say? Indeed.
The St Andrews-raised Jardine was the England captain behind the terrifying Bodyline series against Australia.
Occurring in 1932-33, the Bodyline series aside from causing a major diplomatic incident – hatched the entire cricketing rivalry between the two sides that continues to this day.
In essence, Jardine developed a tactic sometimes referred to as fast leg theory bowling.
Designed to destroy the batting prowess of Australia’s legendary Don Bradman, Jardine arranged for England’s fast bowlers to bowl pacey, short balls at the Australian batsmen.
The ball would buck-up, flying at the batsmen’s heads with almost-deadly speed (in an age without helmets), making the game almost unplayable.
England would win the series but Australia were, rightly, not happy, arguing that Jardine had attacked the spirit of the game.
Australian captain Bill Woodfull said of one match in the series: “There are two teams out there, one is playing cricket. The other is making no attempt to do so.”
And Australia’s fans, who rightly found the quality of the cricket a frustration, were equally unimpressed: England players at one point feared a riot was about to start.
Jardine’s behaviour ultimately led to a change in cricket’s rules to stop other teams using the Bodyline tactic.
But it sparked a rivalry that was still notably present at the ICC World Cup in 2015.
Yet England and Australia weren’t the only rivals playing this weekend.
India and Pakistan (alas their rivalry has little relation to Courier Country) is more of a modern geo-political grudge although naturally it still involves the British.
At the collapse of British rule in India, the Government (as it did in many places) drew fresh lines on the map in an attempt to engineer a bloodless transition to local rule.
In the subcontinent, as in many in other places, it generally had the opposite effect.
The creation, for the region’s Muslim population, of Pakistan (the west and east, which would later become Bangladesh), resulted in what is believed to be the largest mass migration in human history and hundreds of thousands of deaths.
The animosity between Muslims and Hindus continued well after the partition, the most notable flashpoint in their relationship being the disputed territory of Kashmir.
With that history in mind, there was more at stake than just cricketing pride when the two sides met in the World Cup on Sunday.
The resultant Indian victory was largely predictable, although Pakistan fought hard in the tail order.
It is reassuring though, that despite the historical rivalries between these nations, the cricket itself was played with an aplomb and decency that only this game can muster.
The history behind the rivalries is I hope interesting. But it is a tribute to the sport and the World Cup itself that they can be played out in such entertaining circumstances.