Off late, Australia has turned into a safe haven for batsmen. Traditionally, the pitches Down Under are renowned for assisting pace in excess as the bounce present out there means that the batsmen need to battle it out in the middle. Due to excessive pace and bounce, the batsman’s technique on the back foot is sternly tested and run making is not like a walk in the park.
Nevertheless, that image has pretty much changed since the last couple of years, thanks to some flat wickets being laid out. Since the summer of 2014/15, the wickets in Australia, have become way too flat as batsmen have plundered runs and milestones with sheer ease.
Keeping that in mind, pitches for the upcoming series against Pakistan can be expected to revert back to their original style. After lively wickets were laid out in the recent series against South Africa, the trend can be expected to continue against Pakistan.
“I think the pitches this summer have been exceptional in terms of the curators delivering what they wanted to deliver, specifically the unique characteristics of their venues,” Sean Cary, Cricket Australia’s (CA) Head of Operations said. “We had a big discussion in our annual seminar pre-season, and we wanted the curators to really focus on the unique characteristics of their venues so Australian cricket doesn’t have the same sort of pitch across the whole country.”
“You don’t want to see flat roads because it doesn’t encourage anyone. It certainly makes the batsman’s life a lot easier and it makes the bowler’s life really difficult. “And fans don’t want to see uneven contests, which is why we’ve encouraged the curators to think about an even contest between bat and ball,” Cary further added.
Cary mentioned pitches should suit the reputation of the respective venues. “We want the WACA to get back as close as it can to being the fastest, bounciest pitch in the country. “We want Adelaide to develop its own characteristics now that it’s got drop-ins, and I think Houghy (curator) has done an exceptional job to work out what’s best for Test cricket at that venue, whether it’s a day Test or a day-night Test. And there’s definitely been obvious signs of spin coming back to the SCG wickets. We haven’t necessarily had over recent years, so that’s fantastic to see.”