Whenever a Test match ends in three days – never mind two – critics decry the pitch as being too bowler-friendly.
The bounce was too hefty, they say; it seamed too much; it was turning square from ball one. And the most common complaint of all: there wasn’t a fair contest between bat and ball.
Everyone from the Gabba curator David Sandurski himself, to South African captain Dean Elgar, to commentators and former greats of the game such as Mark Waugh and Ricky Ponting, have slammed the pitch for the first Test between Australia and South Africa.
Yes, the strip in Brisbane wasn’t perfect. But compared to the absolute snooze-fest of a series just completed against the West Indies, where the Aussies racked up gargantuan totals on pitches that ranged from challenging but manageable (Adelaide) to woefully lifeless (Perth), seeing ball dominate bat made for utterly compelling viewing.
Those two days in Queensland were ten times more watchable than either of the previous Tests. I can’t express how much I would prefer to watch two days of action-packed cricket than slog through five mundane ones.
I only wish the Perth and Adelaide curators had found a way to give their pitches as much life as was on display at the Gabba. Had they done so, we might have at least seen the Windies bowlers challenge the Aussie batters.
Might the pitch have deteriorated further on day three and become genuinely unsafe? Perhaps. But it’s probably worth noting that, while plenty of balls seamed, bounced and fizzed around across those two remarkable days, not many of the wickets came about from genuinely unplayable balls.
Take Steve Smith, who claimed it was one of the most challenging pitches he’d ever played on 20 minutes after getting out nicking a supremely ugly cut shot that he should have shouldered arms to.
This isn’t to say that the pitch was perfect – but then again, few are. And nowhere in the criticism has there been room to consider that, just maybe, two outstanding bowling sides came up against one seriously weak top order and another proven to be deceptively frail in tricky conditions, and cashed in.
The 29,306 fans that packed the ground for day one – the most at the venue for a non-Ashes Test, incidentally – got their money’s worth and more.
Mitchell Starc celebrates taking the wicket of Temba Bavuma (Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)
Sure, the broadcasters won’t be happy – they pay for five days of Test cricket – but such is the risk of buying the rights to just about the only sport in the world without a set ending time.
On the flip side, the result of such a dramatic Test is that, for the first time all summer (and that includes the T20 World Cup) cricket is actually dominating discussion around the nation’s water-coolers. That can only lead more viewers to tune in for the rest of the summer.
That goes for the Big Bash League, too – the sheer comedy value of the Sydney Thunder getting bowled out for 15 has put the league in the spotlight for the first time in what feels like years.
People love drama, they love records and they love the occasional bout of glorious incompetence in professional sport, and across three truly chaotic days of cricket over the weekend, we got that in droves.
The spicy pitch in Brisbane gave a stale summer just the adrenaline shot it needed, and suddenly the Boxing Day Test looms as an enthralling, unmissable contest once more. Had the Gabba given us a plodding, batter-friendly deck and seen Australia rack up another zillion runs, how many brave souls would have still been paying attention come day five?
It’s probably good for the Australian team, too, to be tested out in challenging conditions against world-class bowlers sooner rather than later. Next year sees them tour India and England, with the World Test Championship final in between, in which they are all but certain to take part.
It’s no use rolling five flat tracks this summer on which the top six can Adam Voges their way to monstrous scores, only to have no clue how to cope when batting gets truly tough in a few months’ time.
If there’s anything to take out of the Gabba, it’s not that the pitch was unfit for cricket; it’s that Travis Head can still produce a blitzkrieg even on a green seamer. That’s exciting news ahead of an English summer where he’ll not only be faced with just those conditions, but an England batting line-up that plays in the same way.
Above all, though, Brisbane reminded us that Test cricket remains so compelling because it’s the only format that still promises some sort of contest between bat and ball. You just don’t get conditions like those faced by the Aussies and Proteas in limited-overs cricket, where the size of the sixes is what counts and bowlers might as well be throwing machines with pulses.
It doesn’t need to be every pitch all of the time – part of the beauty of Tests is each surface, each country, each city offers different challenges that only the best can master. But a Gabba deck – every so often – to keep the batters on their toes and give the bowlers something to strive for is good for the future of the sport.
Forget criticising the pitch – we should instead be celebrating it for producing some of the best cricket seen in Australia in years. It wasn’t on for a long time, but the first Test was unquestionably a good time.
Steele
Roar Rookie
No worries, that Test has been used by our subcontinent friends as a way to detract from their own pitch doctoring. Big difference being, that it was a stuff up and not a stitch up like the ones India rolled out!
Kizman
Roar Rookie
Sorry to reply back to an old comment, but I was just thinking about this game the other day in hindsight, and looks like you were right. A green pitch like that was SA's best chance to win, as the pitch was so unpredictable and dangerous it nullified the difference in skill between our batting line ups. On flatter pitches later in the series, that difference was exposed with SA collapsing on solid batting pitches after Australia made 500+. It's why SA were able to take a win off England's Bazball team last yr at Lords, due to how strong their bowling attack is.
Steele
Roar Rookie
Agreed, the outcry over a green top has been over the top. The batting techniques of todays game can’t cope. I’d rather a 2 day result than a 5 day draw.
Shire
Roar Rookie
The game was gripping even when India collapsed for 36. To be ahead and then implode so spectacularly was an incredible spectacle.
Timmuh
Roar Guru
"And nowhere in the criticism has there been room to consider that, just maybe, two outstanding bowling sides came up against one seriously weak top order and another proven to be deceptively frail in tricky conditions, and cashed in." Pretty much. The pitch was a bit greener than normal, but nothing like seen in many parts of the world regularly. In some ways it almost resembled a faster version of somewhere like Christchurch. It wasn't ideal, but any issues with the pitch were made far worse by the failure of so many batters to attempt to find a way through and just playing like it was a flat deck.
badmanners
Roar Rookie
Imagine the outcry if this game occurred in South Africa and we lost.
Big Daddy
Roar Rookie
Tests finishing in 2 days - yeah that's gonna get the crowds back . If it's not the pitch it's very poor batting by both sides .
matth
Roar Guru
I suppose you have some memory of this particular author saying that about Indian pitches?
matth
Roar Guru
Good comment. I guess my favourite pitch is where a century is possible without having to be super lucky, but where a century actually means something
matth
Roar Guru
Well said
badmanners
Roar Rookie
The poor shots quoted in the article were a result of the batsmen not being prepared to get in behind the ball due to the variable bounce as they were likely to wear a 140km/h projectile. Can't say I blame them!
Omnitrader
Roar Rookie
I have nothing against the Indian dust bowls (as long as the game moves along and doesn't meander to a 600+ plus innings from both teams and then a draw), prepare your home wicket to suit the home team and if the tourists beat you then good on them. India, RSA and England have done it in the last 10 or so years in Australia.
bungeye
Roar Rookie
Yes! Green tops are a MUST when India tour here next. Anyway, their was no need to turbocharge the characteristic of the Gabba pitch, we hardly lose there, anyway.
Takeadeepbreath
Roar Rookie
Well if you want tests to finish in 2 days by preparing a green juicy top….that’s fine by me as well….then don’t create an expectation of a 5 day test day test that will only last a couple of days. Curators can obviously also prepare a monster and have it all over in 3 sessions…sure that would excite some. That’s why we have the T20 format now….to cater for all cricketing tastes. My post was not about promoting or preparing roads either to inflate batting averages….it was about getting the balance right. ML and SS are on top of the pile of world batting and suspect that ranking puts them in a worldclass category….and they didn’t get there because of one series against a weak Windies attack. Asking for a balanced and fair contest…that is all.
Clear as mud
Guest
I think the conversation about the alleged binary - road or Gabba Greenie - is weird. In the Ashes last year, the decks were very sporting. we made 425, 473 and 416. england didn't top 300. there were no roads. against India the year before there wasn't a score over 400 between either side. the games went late but the contests were gripping (when India weren't folding for 36). we didn't really seem to have a problem the last few years? so the Gabba is just a curator error?
Tempo
Roar Rookie
I didn’t mind it, but don’t think it was a good pitch. This wasn’t a pitch you could graft on, that’s the problem with it. Obviously it’s a subjective judgment and some may think it’s a good pitch for test cricket. I don’t, and my sense is the majority (though certainly not all) of fans and pundits would agree.
ColinT
Roar Rookie
Yes, batters have had it too easy for their own good in this era. How would they have managed when there were no helmets, no boundary ropes, no gigantic sight screens, no super high tech bats, no drop-in pitches. After a wet AFL footy season and a typically wet November at the MCG, the outfield used to resemble a cow paddock and the centre square was a muddy quagmire. The pitch often resembled a sheet of corrugated iron and helmet-less batsmen had to face up to ferocious fast bowling attacks with unpredictable bounce and movement. Very different today, the MCG has installed a superb outfield drainage system, predictable drop-in pitches, boundary ropes and sight screens that take up an entire seating bay. All changes have benefited batsmen at the expense of bowlers.
Steele
Roar Rookie
But that’s the debate isn’t it? Tubby didn’t mind it, and to be fair many loved it. I think it’s a reflection of two teams with A grade bowlers and the batsman have lost the art of grafting on a tough wicket.
Steele
Roar Rookie
Agree with everything you just wrote. As already mentioned, this is why the UK tests are so damn good. It’s almost as if our curators are against our national side at times though. Think about it. S.A strongest suit is its bowling, so it would be in Australia’s best interest to have a more batsman friendly surface, as I’d back our batsman against their own. Then we will roll out roads for our sub continent friends.
Brian
Guest
So when India produce a dustbowl and win in 2 days its scandalous but when we do it its fantastic