Fast, bouncy, exciting. These are the characteristics that have for years typified an Australian cricket wicket with epic contests between bat and ball the overall result.
Opposition sides would come to our shores frightened of the extra bounce and pace, with wickets such as the Gabba and WACA in particular proving to be paradise for fast bowlers.
Fast forward to the summer of 2017-18 and things have changed dramatically, with the recent Ashes series for the most part serving up batting friendly pitches that rarely saw both sides bat for two significant innings.
Although four of five completed matches have produced results, other than under the lights of Adelaide Oval in the second Test match batsmen have truly dominated this Ashes series.
This summer has by no means been an outlier in this regard, as recent years have again seen batsmen dominate as flat surfaces in Perth, Brisbane, Melbourne, Sydney and Adelaide have made for runs galore and to be truthful a deterioration in entertainment.
As much as I love seeing my beloved Australian side cruising along at 4/500 grinding the old foe into the ground, I miss the contest between bat and ball which for the most part has been non existent.
England have also prospered on these flat surfaces, with Alastair Cook smashing the Australians to all parts of the MCG on his way to a monster 244*. As well as Dawid Malan and Jonny Bairstow putting on a humongous fifth wicket partnership breaking English records in the process.
The Sydney Test was another great example of the deterioration of bowler friendly conditions in Australia as the home side piled on a monstrous 7/649 with three centuries and all bar one specialist batsmen passing 50.
Although Australia did end up rolling England for 180 in the second innings, the drama usually involved in an Ashes series was almost non existent as England rolled over and essentially gifted the Australian side a dominant 4-0 triumph.
(Photo by Philip Brown/Getty Images)
Their have been instances where Test matches have gone down to the wire in recent times, with the Adelaide Tests of 2014 and 2015 and 2016’s Brisbane and Melbourne Tests all captivating games of cricket.
However, matches like this have been few and far between in recent times as for the most part we have seen run-fests that either dwindle out into a draw or are just dominated by one team (usually Australia).
The curators simply must get together and design a way to bring the art of bowling back into Australian test cricket, whether that be through more bounce and pace or more grass on the wicket to generate swing and off the pitch movement.
In other major Test-playing nations around the world such is India, South Africa and England, pitches are much better equipped to help the bowlers thus resulting in more interesting test matches.
Take Australia’s most recent trip to India for example, given absolutely no chance by most pundits Steve Smith and his men put in an inspired effort to only go down 2-1 in an enthralling two months of Test cricket.
In just about all of these matches, the contest between bat and ball was at its highest as runs were truly earned and a chase of even 150 in the second innings was extremely difficult.
Although Australia lost that series in India, I found it be a much more enthralling series than the most recent Ashes as you felt as if something might happen every ball. This was something that the Ashes lacked in a big way.
Another excellent comparison between Test cricket in Australia versus elsewhere can be seen in Sydney. Australia faced England in the fifth Ashes test, whilst over in Cape Town India and South Africa squared off for the first match of their three-Test series.
As explained earlier, the match at the SCG was filled with runs, runs and more runs as Australia batted for the best part of three days and crushed the English by an innings and 123 runs.
Newlands on the other hand hosted an enthralling match of cricket as South Africa defeated India by 72 runs in an extremely low-scoring affair. Wickets fell left right and centre whilst runs proved hard to come by, as spectators were on the edge of their seat for the full three days of play.
Although this is an extreme example of a bowler friendly wicket, Australian curators should take note of what happened in Cape Town last week and take characteristics from that pitch and apply them to our five famous venues.
(AAP Image/Dave Hunt)
With Australia heading over to South Africa for a four-Test series at the end of next month, batsmen could be in for a major surprise as they face the likes of Kagiso Rabada, Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel and Vernon Philander. On the green top pitches of South Africa they will definitely be a step up from the English attack they faced on the flat wickets of Australia.
If the current South Africa vs India series is something to go by, this will be an extremely entertaining example of cricket as Steve Smith’s side looks to prove themselves overseas.
With India embarking on our shores in 12 months time, it would make sense to prepare the fastest pitches possible to expose their weakness to pace and the short ball.
However, with the new age of drop in wickets and the need to extend Test matches for as long as possible I do not have my hopes up.
Don’t get me wrong, Test cricket in Australia is still a highlight of a summer down under and will continue to entertain fans for decades to come.
However, all I’m asking for is a bit of life in our pitches, less runs and most importantly drama and excitement.
Garry
Guest
What a boring game. Play cricket by all means, but don't televise it at the risk of other good television programs especially having to watch those cheating players. What a joke.
bobbo7
Guest
Yes Australian pitches are flat. As good as Smith and Warner are (and Smith is undoubtedly a great player) I cant help but think their great averages have a lot to do with the Australia playing long series on roads of the past 3-5 years. The fact Kohli and Williamson average over 50 in Australia against a far stronger bowling attack just shows how easy quality batsmen find it in Australia these days. Unfortunately this just makes for boring cricket. Australia were the better team in the Ashes - largely due to a stronger bowling attack in these conditions but it was a boring series overall. Watching SA and India rip each other apart in SA was a lot more entertaining. For mine, watching AB Devilliers scamper to 35 to win the Test while others could not get past 10 is the meaning of Test cricket.
Bakkies
Guest
The Newlands pitch wasn't a green top. Bit of grass on it. Batsmen hung their bats out and the Indians did themselves no favours by playing all those matches against Sri Lanka at home than rocking up to a test in SA with no warm up matches. Centurion is more like the recent Sydney pitch and they have had strong heat.
Bakkies
Guest
The two bouncers is an over law change brought a big change in the fast bowling. The Windies bowlers after Ambrose, etc couldn't bowl the consistent line and length required at test level when you weren't able to bounce batsmen regularly. Their short balls below the shoulder weren't accurate enough to trouble the batsmen. The pitches in the Windies have changed which hasn't helped their development. Line and length bowlers that took bags on pitches that didn't bounce as much like Pollock, Pidge, Philander and briefly Stuart Clark were worth their weight in cold. Hazlewood is not as accurate as those bowlers as hits higher pace and he is more variant in the spots and lengths he hits.
Timmuh
Roar Guru
Most nations are "too good at home". The lack of preparation, there used to be 2-3 good tour games before an opening Test. Now there is often one 3 day game against what amounts to a regional 3rd XI, or a virtual youth side. All nations are guilty of that, just as much as they are of pitches being either dead or very heavily home favoured. Unfortunately with a more crowded international calendar, and plethora of T20 competitions, tour games aren't going to be coming back. And that is the biggest risk to the long format, it requires a good proportion of games to be competitive or interest is lost. Short series with no lead in to acclimatise risk that requirement.
Irie4
Guest
If the first and only (rational) decision by the captain winning the toss is "We'll have a bat" then what's the point? I long for the day when both captains are desperate to bowl first, and not just once off, but in half the games they play
Tony Tea
Guest
This was James Sutherland after the Boxing Day Test: "We were disappointed that the traditional characteristics of the MCG pitch did not come to the fore during the Boxing Day Test." What, precisely, are these "traditional characteristics" of the MCG deck, James? The MCG pitch has been a dud for years now. The only time I can remember it being an interesting pitch was in the late 1970s and early 1980s when it was falling apart. Pretty much ever since it has been a blancmange. The recent Boxing Day Test was merely the culmination of many years of the pitch being put to sleep with chloroform.
Linphoma
Guest
Too much is made of the decks prepared. Does every Test, on every day's play, have to resemble the 1977 Centenary Test? I use that as the first thing that came to mind when I thought "Test cricket" and "ideal match". 4-0 out of 5 tests is 4 results. They were played on five different decks with different characteristics. Each lasted into the fifth day and without crucial intervention from rain delays you would expect a result could have occurred if the match had been allowed to elapse in contiguous time. Is the paying public expecting too much, let's call it, entertainment? Froth and bubble, wickets falling, big shots played? Test cricket has evolved as an contest of attrition and it's only in the last 20 years with the sides that AB, Taylor, Waugh and Ponting carved during that golden period that saw an excellent side sweep all before them and the other sides followed suit. I am a history graduate, and it seems a reflection of Victorian-Edwardian times. The Golden Age of cricket was the 20 years up to the start of Word War I. And what was WWI but a contest of attrition?
Bilbo
Guest
I agree there partially, I'm looking at more than this past series England came with a weakened bowling attack, probably made a mistake by bringing Ali, no Stokes, their batsmen were sub par so that didn't help There are some good bowlers going around, Steyn and others for SA, India has a decent attack, Pakistan has a couple good spinners But for me its more the pitches that are to blame, lifeless wickets, and it has been the case here for the past 10 years Batting first would matter, especially at the MCG where it kept low on days 4 & 5 and the SCG with the turn after day 3 It's nice to watch test cricket when there might be a chance of a wicket with every ball, like in the recent IND v SA game, that was exciting to watch Not a yawn fest like the last few summers here
Cantab
Guest
Not boring, but less exciting. 300-350 shoud be the par score batting first. not 400+
Captain Cranky
Guest
My biggest gripe with the pitches of the last 15 years or so is the loss of character in many of the wickets. I remember when Brisbane and Perth were excellent for seamers but still provided plenty of reward for good batting. Sydney may have been a little too spin-friendly, and the MCG may have had too much variable bounce at times, but at least they provided a point of difference. Now these two grounds serve up boring corporate-friendly cricket, while Perth lost it's bounce. Brisbane and Adelaide are arguably the only grounds that have retained most of their former character, but now apparently the Gabba isn't good enough for the suits at CA.
Paul
Roar Guru
Bilbo You've highlighted the point I made earlier but are still blaming the pitches. Look at the quality of bowler you named; all greats and all likely to take wickets on just about any surface. Yes, the guys 30 years ago had to earn their runs, but that's because there were a lot of outstanding bowlers of all types, not because there was a huge difference in the pitches. The English attack, in Australian conditions, was found wanting, end of story. Don't forget, on similar pitches but a better SA attack last year, we struggled mightily.
Bilbo
Guest
I feel for our heroes of the 80s and early 90s.. having to face the likes of Ambrose, Walsh, Malcolm Marshall.. Was Akram, Younis and others on wickets that moved and bounced and sometimes (like the MCG) kept shockingly low, when there was turn, when spinners bowled into the rough Today they play on wax pitches that look the same on day 5 as on day 1 Back then you really had to earn your average of 50, it was bloody tough. Today, centuries seem far more common. I don't remember three Aussies getting a century in the same innings between 87-94..correct me if I'm wrong Broken ribs were common, broken fingers, remember that series in the WI in 1991.. amazing to watch.. Steve Waughs brilliant innings ok.. so I'm a bit nostalgic, but I really do miss the contest between bat and ball
matth
Guest
It's not as bad as all that. Every now and then the curator either gets it wrong or has conditions conspire against him, but the aim is still to have a pitch where the game goes at least until the fourth day. For the most part that has happened. The MCG was bad, but it doesn't happen as often as you are making out. Some statistics on the level of draws in recent years compared to historical rates would back your case. I've been watching cricket for forty years and my feeling is that there has never been fewer draws than there are now. Pitches in general look like roads when the home team is batting, but not so much when the away team is batting. this implies that preparation for the away team is as much a problem as the pitches. The Newlands test is not a good comparison. It was over inside three days and that was with a significant portion of one day being lost to rain. So are we wanting 2 and a bit day test matches? Finally, and this is a common and annoying mistake: "more grass on the wicket to generate swing and off the pitch movement." A pitch does not generate swing. Atmospheric conditions and the condition of the ball affect swing. the only way a pitch contributes is that if it is unusually abrasive it might take the shine off more quickly and reduce the time for conventional swing, however this should also aid the earlier use of reverse. When looking at this issue I would consider the ball and not just the pitches. But the absolute main reason is the lack of preparation allowed for touring teams in this age of compressed schedules, such that visiting teams are not ready to bowl to local conditions and batsmen are not ready to bat.
Bearfax
Roar Guru
Good test cricket requires two teams that are competitive. England came over with a couple of top batsmen, a top wicket keeper, two good bowlers and the rest would struggle in our Shield season. I also find it totally inappropriate that cricketers were required to play in 40+ degree temperatures. I dont care what the TV stations et al say. There is something called player safety that should take priority. That should never be allowed to happen again. Absolutely disgraceful
paul
Guest
What your asking for Zac are pitches that are a better contest between bat and ball, yet there was a series 4 nil result, which obviously meant Australia bowled England out at least 8 times. The fact that England could not do the same to Australia has nothing to do with pitches, but everything to do with the side they chose to bring to Australia. You talk about the Newlands pitch which allowed 18 wickets to be taken inside 3 days. That's the complete opposite to the pitches in Australia and I for one can't see how this can be classed as "better cricket. Sure the bowlers love it, but do you honestly want 4 Tests like that - where guys are flat out putting bat on ball and the contest is over inside 3 days? No argument the pitches in Australia need work, but this has been an issue since at least the past 50 years. No doubt the curators will make pitches more to your liking next year, but don't forget they still need to make something that will last 5 days
anon
Roar Pro
Australia is too good at home and the quality of opposition in world cricket is dire. England are glorified Test minnows not much better than the likes of New Zealand, Sri Lanka or the West Indies. When Australia play the likes of Pakistan or Sri Lanka at home the result of the series is a foregone conclusion. South Africa and India are the only teams that consistently put up some kind of resistance to Australia, and India don't even care that much about Test cricket (to the degree Australia does).
Mattyb
Guest
The fans have lost interest more than the game becoming boring. People are now more interested in talking about the pitches or selection,they no longer seem to have much positive interest in the game itself,during the Ashes it was evident people wanted to talk about anything rather than the game that was taking place.
Peter Zitterschlager
Guest
Yep, too much emphasis on preparing wickets that deliver 5 days of content.
El Loco
Roar Rookie
Vigilance is needed certainly, and the MCG "poor" rating is a good wake up call, but for mine there's far too much moaning. Regardless of the pitch, England put in the best first test showing by a visiting team in eons, and Adelaide held plenty of interest. Ok, they lost a runfest in Perth and it killed off the series but they threw away their control of the game through the first innings collapse, where a bigger score would have pressured Australia's batsmen, and maybe we wouldn't have seen a 600+ score. Ultimately it was a burst of effort bowling on a flat pitch that turned the game, which is the same as grafting runs on a bowler's pitch.