What is the traditionalist’s view of what makes an ideal cricket pitch?
As I grew up watching cricket I came to understand what makes a surface that allows everybody in the team to fully participate. It seems to me that the ideal cricket pitch has an even cover of grass initially and on the first day has some moisture just under the surface. There is enough there to make the captain winning the toss briefly contemplate sending the opposition in to bat. After this brief contemplation he will decide to bat anyway.
In these conditions the first session is enthralling. The bowlers know that there will be something there to assist them, while the batsmen are aware that a torrid first session awaits them.
(Scott Barbour/Getty Images)
If the batting team is good enough, they will survive the first session relatively unscathed, and as the pitch settles they will have a more friendly batting track. Now the question will be: are they good enough to capitalise on the first use of the wicket? For the next two days the betting service will be good, while there is enough grass on the wicket to offer the bowlers some hope.
On Day 3 there will be a slight deterioration in the surface, yet batting will still be relatively straightforward. This will continue into Day 4, but by midafternoon there will be enough surface break-up to allow spin bowlers some encouragement. During Day 5 batting will become awkward against the turning and seaming ball. While it will be awkward, for those skilled in playing spin it will not be impossible. The highest calibre players can survive and can even school freely, particularly if there are fieldsmen crowding around the batting crease.
Such variations in the playing conditions of the pitch make for intriguing cricket, allowing all players to fully participate. That seems to me to be the ideal pitch.
If you accept this as being valid, then it sheds some interesting light on the three most recent seasons that the Indian cricket team have been involved in. First we had last season’s Test series against Australia in Australia. The services played on, particularly in the last two Tests, were rubbish. They may have fulfilled the ideal on the first three days, but there was no variation in the service on the fourth and fifth days and thus no discernible advantage for the team batting first.
There was no help for the bowling team on the final two days. The pitch surface remained as flat as a tack. Perhaps these pitches had been prepared too well, thus there was no deterioration. There should have been problems for the team batting last, which was India, but there were not.
Then we had the series in India between England and India. Apart from the first Test, the pitches served up were diabolical. For four Tests we had the ball turning almost square from Day 1 onwards. This is not how traditional cricket is played. Obviously the Indians were preparing pitches that suited their strengths. Most home teams do this to some extent. But the extent the Indians went to was ludicrous, and to their great credit the England management and captain rarely complained about the situation.
There was nothing particularly inviting watching the struggle between skilled spin bowlers and perplexed batsmen from Day 1. It was nonsense cricket from Day 1 of each of the four Tests.
The current series between England and India in England has been fascinating, and there has been a sense that every style of bowler has had a chance to excel. Batting has been challenging, but the good players have shone. The great players, such as Joe Root, have been exhilarating. I am sure Virat Kohli will perform well in the next two Tests.
Last season the Sydney wicket was officially confirmed as being inadequate. I wonder what the official view was of the wickets presented for Tests two to five in India? The English curators are leading the way this season, and the Australians and Indians should take note.
Micko
Roar Rookie
Inconsistent bounce can be dangerous too. The new MCG pitch they put in a couple of years ago was still slightly wet before a Shield game between Vic & WA, and saw each ball put a slight hole (like holes in a golf ball) in the pitch. Two virtually identically balls to Shaun Marsh had one around waist height, to the next one rearing up at his chest! :shocked:
Micko
Roar Rookie
Yes, I actually like some of these crazy Indian Day 1 turning pitches. Something different to watch. I feel (most) Aussie batsmen come away better batsmen after experiencing these type of pitches.
Micko
Roar Rookie
Australian pitches have been sub-standard for a while. The new Optus and MCG pitches seem to be good though. Time to dig up the rest and change them!
Peter Farrar
Roar Pro
Great topic and as can be seen from the comments, one that many take an interest in. I can say something about the kind of pitch we don't want. The MCG which had a surface like we'd broken off a lane from a freeway and dropped it in during 2017. This was the year Alistar Cook captained the England team and (respect to him) made a double century on it. But the pitch was virtually over prepared, being predictable and offering bowlers little more than the chance of exhaustion and a pulled calf muscle. As a result, it offered the crowd little either.
James
Guest
Thats a really good point. We definitely favour fast bowlers over spinners and also make it easier for batsmen who dont use their wrists as much.
Jiminy Cricket's
Guest
If the Gabba wasn't the first test with players hopping off the plane straight to the Gabba, it wouldn't be the citadel. India by the 4th test were completely used to the bounce and beat Australia as a result. England in 2010 batted Australia into a draw because - shock - they played THREE legitimate first class warm up matches before that test and were used to the bounce. Imagine playing three first class matches to start a tour these days!?
Rowdy
Roar Rookie
.... because it's our 'citadel'?
Once Upon a Time on the Roar
Roar Guru
Yeah maybe. But I certainly don't feel that way about post 1991 Adelaide Oval.
Rowdy
Roar Rookie
I get that. But many will still say that it is a 'no result pitch'. Non-objective readers will then perceive that that's still the case.
Once Upon a Time on the Roar
Roar Guru
Yeah but my comment about Adelaide in the 1980s was purely in the context of discussion of the nature of the pitches of yesteryear around the country, in which AO pitch was described as perfect. Impossible to pinpoint the exact moment in time that yesteryear ended, but it was probably not long after about 1989.
Rowdy
Roar Rookie
My point is that not mentioning it (the greater percentage of results since that time) is tantamount to saying it happens all the time. --------- No city, or state, in Australia has a greater reputation differential to that of which actually goes down. The cricket stuff helps perpetuate these myths.
Once Upon a Time on the Roar
Roar Guru
I only said the 1980s, didn't mention any other era. In Australia during the 1980s, 50% of tests were drawn, and this dropped to 22% for the 1990s. The first decade of the new century it was 15% and then 16% for the most recently completed decade.
Rowdy
Roar Rookie
TBF, the pitch has behaved inverse to what you’ve said here since that time. 30 years of not doing what you’ve described. ——– But, hey, perception is reality
Once Upon a Time on the Roar
Roar Guru
On the 2006-07 tour here, they picked Ashley Giles because they had picked Garaint Jones as keeper and he wasn't capable of keeping to Monty Panesar, the best spinner in England at that time. The better keeping option, Someone Read, was left out because Jones was apparently a better batsman.
Bobbo7
Guest
Basically English or NZ pitches. Something in it for bowlers. I have no time for day 2 and 3 roads.
Renato CARINI
Roar Rookie
I really enjoyed this article, JJ Wicket preparation has long been a topic of lively debate and sometimes conflict (e.g. Leeds in 1972). I agree with almost all of what you wrote. One of the worst things from a purist's point of view is the lifeless wicket that gives bowlers a raw deal (which were common in the 1920s and 1930s). I actually don't mind the raging turner from ball-one, as in the ones you described. Watching the batsmen struggle brings out my masochistic side :laughing: whether it be raw pace, wicked turn or inordinate swing. Congratulations on a Greg Chappell-like, Roar debut.
Ian
Roar Rookie
I see the point you're trying to make JGK but it's hard for the spinners to make their mark when the best of them,Ashwin for India and Leach for England,haven't played a test! Ashwin's the best finger spinner in the world and not only would he be the first man I'd pick,I'd make him captain as well.Good old England always make the same mistake of picking the lesser option as he can bat a little bit rather than someone who can bowl you to victory.
Once Upon a Time on the Roar
Roar Guru
Yes it was pathetic for sure. 1 for 59 off 19 overs leading by 97 at stumps on day 4. Then bowled out in 51 overs on following day for just an additional 70, a pathetic 1.39 runs per over. Just one more run per over on that final day, still bowled out at the same time, would still have been a pathetic 2.39 per over in this century, but at least that would have set 219 rather than 168 off the 36 overs left. Given we took 32 overs to get those 168 then it would have been out of reach by a long way.
Ian
Roar Rookie
Quite right.The so called greatest Test of all time at Adelaide in 2006/7 was for 4 days an absolute bore on an absolute road.It wasn’t till the last day when England’s batsmen collectively wet themselves that we had any excitement at all.Their collapse on that final day had nothing to do with the wicket at all.
Ian
Roar Rookie
The wickets in Tests 2-4 on Englands recent tour were no where near as bad as portrayed.I'll admit they were great but Englands batting was simply pathetic.Some of them look beaten as they walked out.It's called Test cricket for a reason...it's supposed to be a Test of your abilities and mental strength and on both of those England failed miserably.