The SCG pitch for the ultimate Check of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy sequence in opposition to India, which was dominated by tempo bowlers who gained lavish seam motion and a few uneven bounce, has been rated “passable” by the ICC match referee, and Cricket Australia has termed it a “step in the precise path” for surfaces on the venue.
The groundsman used a brand new number of grass for this season’s Check pitch, having trialled it throughout final summer time’s Sheffield Protect, and it resulted within the third-shortest Sydney Check of all time – with an outright consequence –
based on deliveries bowled. Solely two half-centuries have been scored, one from debutant Beau Webster and the opposite a surprising 33-ball counterattack by Rishabh Pant.
Australia opener Usman Khawaja known as the pitch a “stinker” after the sport, however his captain Pat Cummins mentioned he would slightly situations tilt in direction of serving to the bowlers, regardless that his staff solely wanted a draw to win the sequence, whereas India coach Gautam Gambhir went additional and mentioned such pitches have been necessary for the way forward for Check cricket.
Nevertheless, former Australia captain Michael Clarke was extremely vital of the floor. “The SCG is my favorite floor on the earth, it’s my dwelling floor, and I hate saying this out loud, however that is the worst pitch I’ve ever seen in Sydney,” he advised ESPN’s Round The Wicket. “I did not assume it was a superb cricket wicket, balls not simply going up off the floor however capturing low on the finish of day two.”
That is the second season in a row that the SCG has been rated passable after receiving the identical mark for the Pakistan Check a yr in the past.
“We do not look to arrange wickets that favour the house aspect or go well with our scenario in a sequence,” Peter Roach, Cricket Australia’s head of cricket operations and scheduling, mentioned. “What we search is an effective contest between bat and ball and pitches which might be prone to produce a consequence.
“The SCG has been striving to deliver out their distinctive traits of early tempo and bounce earlier than the pitch wears and spins. This yr was a step in the precise path to attaining this which offered an thrilling end to the Border-Gavaskar Trophy sequence and bodes nicely for the Ashes summer time in 2025-26.”
“Historically right here it is fairly benign and we have had a whole lot of attracts, so lots of people have been speaking concerning the attracts, so that you’re damned in the event you do it and damned in the event you do not”
Andrew McDonald
The pitch rankings system was revamped in 2023 to cut back the variety of classes from six to 4: excellent, passable, unsatisfactory, and unfit. Venues are given demerit factors in the event that they obtain unsatisfactory or unfit rankings.
The SCG has beforehand been criticised for pitches not providing sufficient help for bowlers, which, coupled with poor climate, led to 4 attracts in 5 seasons between 2018-19 and 2022-23.
“The bottom employees have completed an unimaginable job by way of making a wicket with one thing in it,” Australia coach Andrew McDonald mentioned after day two. “Historically right here it is fairly benign and we have had a whole lot of attracts, so lots of people have been speaking concerning the attracts, so that you’re damned in the event you do it and damned in the event you do not. I feel he is attempting to supply a fair contest between bat and ball. It is made for attention-grabbing cricket.”
The opposite 4 pitches within the sequence – at Perth’s Optus Stadium, Adelaide Oval, the Gabba and MCG – all obtained “excellent” rankings.
