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Never going to be pitch perfect, but Aussie wickets need resuscitation

2nd January, 2018
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(Scott Barbour/Getty Images)
Expert
2nd January, 2018
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When the mountains of cash pour in this year from the next broadcast deal Cricket Australia should set a good chunk aside to invest in the country’s pitch health.

The issue – which has been bubbling away for the best part of the last 15 years – was brought into sharp focus because of the state of the MCG deck for the fourth Ashes Test.

Over the five days only 24 wickets fell.

“It hasn’t changed over five days and I’d say if we were playing for the next couple of days it wouldn’t change at all,” was Australian skipper Steve Smith’s review after scoring yet another ton on the final day to secure a draw.

“I just don’t think it’s good for anyone.”

Match referee Ranjan Madugalle agreed, rating the wicket “poor” in his post-match report – an assessment that earnt the MCG the embarrassment of becoming the first Australian Test pitch to be described as such by the ICC.

“The bounce of the MCG pitch was medium, but slow in pace and got slower as the match progressed,” Madugalle said.

“The nature of the pitch did not change over the five days and there was no natural deterioration.

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“The pitch did not allow an even contest between the bat and the ball.”

(Scott Barbour/Getty Images)

Cricket Victoria chief executive Tony Dodemaide thinks it might be time to dig up the drop-in wickets and start afresh with new soil and turf.

It’s a good call. There’s strong consensus among players, officials and fans that the MCG pitch is as docile as a koala on Stilnox. There have been three Sheffield Shield draws at the ground already this season.

But the MCG isn’t the only Australian wicket that could do with a makeover.

It’s well accepted that the strips across the nation have become more homogenous in recent times.

Since 2000 the Gabba isn’t as green as it used to be, the SCG doesn’t turn anywhere near as much as it used to and even the WACA isn’t as fast and bouncy as it used to be, although Test cricket has wound up there now. The MCG is plain docile. And Adelaide is still flat, but the day-night Tests at the ground mean the night session puts a bit of jazz through it.

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Even over the last week leading into the fifth Ashes Test at the SCG the wicket has commonly been described as “spin-friendly”. It’s not. It certainly doesn’t take turn from day one like it used to more than 20 years ago. It deteriorates at the same rate as many Test wickets, but the best slow bowlers didn’t used to have to rely on the day-three footmarks to get them gripping and turning.

CA will be flush with money when the new BBL media deal is signed later this year – it’s expected to be a $300 million package – and the budget should be adjusted to account for a pitches allocation.

There’s some complexity given the various agreements with the landlords and the existence of co-tenants at the five Test grounds. For example, ultimate responsibility for the preparation of the MCG wicket falls to venue operators, the Melbourne Cricket Club.

(Michael Willson/AFL Media/Getty Images)

But it’s an investment worth making given what’s at stake: the entertainment value of Test cricket that makes the game many millions of dollars in TV revenue and gate takings (although there is some irony in the fact that any ICC fine for the poor pitch – likely to be a maximum of $18,000 – would be significantly inferior to the money made by CA for the Test going the full five days).

And the variation in pitch conditions globally is one of cricket’s great strengths – the green mamba in Durban, the seamer at Edgbaston, the raging bunsen burner in Nagpur, the scorched strip in Trinidad.

But aside from the financial imperative at international level, Australia’s young and upcoming domestic cricketers – as it stands – aren’t exposed to wildly different playing conditions.

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Aussie coach Darren Lehmann has often lamented the way the wickets have gone. He compares his career – where he had to prove his skill and Test credentials with the bat by contending with bounce, seam and spin at Shield level – to those coming through the ranks these days whose adaptability isn’t pushed to the same degree.

It’s a point he laboured during Australia’s 2016 Test tour of Sri Lanka, where batting against quality spin bowling was exposed as was the ability of Nathan Lyon, Steve O’Keefe and Jon Holland to extract the same fizz and other tricks from the dusty wickets.

At least the drop-in pitches at the MCG and Adelaide (and I think the new Perth Stadium will be a drop-in) means experimentation and preparations can be done while the co-tenant AFL clubs are carving up the guts of the grounds.

For the SCG and Gabba, CA have the money but do they have the desire to do the best thing for the punter and future international players.

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