There was a time in the middle of the last decade when bowlers did not get any encouragement on Australian pitches.
On the 2017–18 Ashes tour of England, over 1,000 runs were scored for only 24 wickets in the fourth Test in Melbourne. The Melbourne Cricket Ground was warned by the International Cricket Council after the governing body deemed it a ‘poor’ surface.
Since England last toured Australia in 2021-22, the pitches have offered a lot to the bowlers.
For the past four years, pitches in this country have been rated as faster, bouncier and more inconsistent than anywhere else in the world. Pace, bounce and inconsistency are the perfect recipe for tough batting.
At this point, it’s fair to say that there is a subjectivity in what constitutes a ‘good’ pitch.
Often, a pitch can be described as ‘good’ when it is conducive to batting, yet this does not always produce the most exciting spectacle.
Perhaps it would be better to describe a ‘good’ pitch as one that creates an even competition between bat and ball.
The pitches also vary during Tests and pose different challenges to the batsmen and bowlers as the match progresses.
Take the first Ashes Test for example. The highest score in the first three innings was 172 runs and batting looked extremely difficult.
In the last innings, Travis Head made the target of 205 runs short for Australia. Chasing runs could become even more difficult on the fifth day of the Test, when the pitch will be at its oldest and worst.
Due to the intense nature of the first Test, Head batted on the second evening, when the pitch was in the best conditions for run-scoring.
“The pitch was brilliant,” said former Australian opening batsman Simon Katich on BBC Radio 5 Live.
“For Australia, it’s all about getting 200 runs at the loss of two wickets. In Australia, if you can wear the new ball, you can score runs quickly in 40 to 50 overs. England were not able to do that and they had to pay the price for it.”
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