Bucking Beads
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Until it starts to spin.
The Flat Deck Problem
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Royal Flash
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True but the beauty of test cricket was that you could also have terrific contests that finished in nail biting draws. Think of the classic rear guard actions where the tail holds out to save a test ala Aus-NZ 1987, Aus-WI 1984, Eng-SA 1998 etc.
These were classic contests between bat and ball but we don't often see that now. As someone mentioned when these roads are prepared after day one usually only one side can win the test. The intrigue, drama and excitement has been sucked totally out of the game and we are left with 3+ days of boring inevitability and no real reason to keep watching.
It needs fixing and soon or test cricket will die on the vine.
Agree entirely. Its tedious. Id sooner watch basketball which is saying something
Presumably because when modern batsmen are faced with a pitch that gives the bowlers something they just capitulate.
They certainly no longer have the stomach or ability to dig in. Australias tour of england this year proved that.
Most do the same every year and tune in day 5
I quite liked the wicket in Mohali. You wouldn't want it every Test, but once a year or so is fine. It exposed the techniques of some of the world's best.
Sure did, and if you had given the same pitch to India fifteen years ago there's no way it would've been over that quickly. India's ability against spin has dropped off a cliff. It was a classic spinner's pitch, and there should be more of them, especially in the sub-continent. India should embrace spin - this is a side that once used four main spinners in one team.
I agree, but it's also more difficult to play on a tricky, turning wicket now. This is due to players previously stretching forward with their bat behind their pad knowing they would not be given lbw. It was only late in Warne's career he began getting more lbws, although he bowled more sliders. Even as late as 2004, Martyn played a great innings in Chennai to save the game, yet he would have likely been out lbw quite a few times were he to play the same innings today.
It was pretty flat yesterday when Williamson and Taylor were batting
But not a surprise.
Dead tracks are killing test cricket.
And now you've got Taylor saying MJ should consider retiring because his hearts not in it - never mind the pitch gave the bowlers absolutely nothing.
You shouldn't play a Test where multiple tons and even double tons are the norm.
Spitta Andretti
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The scores in this match would not have blown out nearly as much if all catches had been held. Catches win matches. If all catches had been held neither Australia nor NZ would have crossed 350 in the first dig. People should stop whining about the pitch and just do the job of playing good cricket. So what if it favours batsmen, it's not like they're playing on something like this:
http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/engine/current/match/456670.html
Also I've noticed too many people making excuses for the NZ and Aussie bowlers because of the pitch. Well that just isn't true, Starc aside everyone in this test has bowled rubbish interspersed with brief patches of good bowling. For bowling such filth and then not taking the catches, they deserved to concede so many runs no matter what kind of pitch was being played on. The only thing about a bowler's wicket is that even if you * up a few times there's still enough in the wicket to come back, whereas on a batter's wicket you've got to be 100% perfect all of the time.
Also some credit to the NZ batsmen wouldn't go amiss. If they had won the toss and put on 550 then they would have won in 4 days by an innings. Australian batting has no capacity to come back from a massive deficit like that no matter how flat the wicket is. They're a bunch of front runners and would have been exposed here at the WACA if they'd lost the toss. Then nobody would be talking about how crap the pitch is, they would have been talking about how crap Australia are.
http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/engine/current/match/456670.html
Also I've noticed too many people making excuses for the NZ and Aussie bowlers because of the pitch. Well that just isn't true, Starc aside everyone in this test has bowled rubbish interspersed with brief patches of good bowling. For bowling such filth and then not taking the catches, they deserved to concede so many runs no matter what kind of pitch was being played on. The only thing about a bowler's wicket is that even if you * up a few times there's still enough in the wicket to come back, whereas on a batter's wicket you've got to be 100% perfect all of the time.
Also some credit to the NZ batsmen wouldn't go amiss. If they had won the toss and put on 550 then they would have won in 4 days by an innings. Australian batting has no capacity to come back from a massive deficit like that no matter how flat the wicket is. They're a bunch of front runners and would have been exposed here at the WACA if they'd lost the toss. Then nobody would be talking about how crap the pitch is, they would have been talking about how crap Australia are.
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Not seeing edges carry to the slips at Perth is soooo disappointing. Even worse is when you have two genuinely quick bowlers in the team that have taken plenty of wickets at the WACA in previous years, to see them largely nullified (especially Johnson) just takes a lot of the fun out of tuning in.
Harris was on ABC today, slammed the lackluster and lifeless pitches we insist on preparing; went so far as to say he believed it was a factor in MJ pulling the pin.
- Jun 22, 2014
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Nothing wrong with green tops imo
Flat pitches...
Enormous bats...
Smaller boundaries...
But there'll be ******* hell to pay if a bowler pushes a fingernail into the ball even for a second.
Bring on the pink ball and all the stuff (good and bad) that comes with it. Anything to break the monotonous run-fests that go by the name of Test cricket in this country nowdays.
Enormous bats...
Smaller boundaries...
But there'll be ******* hell to pay if a bowler pushes a fingernail into the ball even for a second.
Bring on the pink ball and all the stuff (good and bad) that comes with it. Anything to break the monotonous run-fests that go by the name of Test cricket in this country nowdays.
to1994
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IMO it was the awful pitches CA prepared for the India series last year that ruined MJ's confidence when he felt he was on top. Not only did he lose his way but all the quicks who played in that series would've been way down on confidence going into the Ashes. Combine that with our batsman feeling over confident due to easy scores on roads and you could say CA did everything possible to ensure we'd get a hiding over there.
Cricket Australia need to ask themselves a question. What's more important? Having a test match go for 5 days or the popularity, excitement and enjoyment of the match and the future of the game itself?
The sub continent is still the sub continent, wickets are dry and they spin. England is still England, the ball swings around and nips around off the pitch. New Zealand is still new Zealand, there's usually a bit of swing and a bit off the wickets at times. South African Wickets are still more or less classic wickets of their continent with the swing, seam and bounce etc...
Australian wickets aren't Australian wickets anymore, in fact they are nothing. The classic Australian wicket was hard with a bit of bounce and a bit off the deck for a start that would then wear and become more spin friendly. Now they are one day wickets that could be comfortably played on for 6 or 7 days. Our wickets had character. Brisbane has always been a bit of a road that did a bit off the seam and spun and bounced a bit, it's still similar but not quite. The WACA is dead, it's a road, consistent bounce, very little sideways movement, not much to offer from cracking, doesn't ware and doesn't bounce like it used to. Adelaide will be a road, you'd hope to see some reverse swing and spin in Adelaide but I'm not expecting much. Melbourne wicket is boring but at least sometimes it can be a bit two paced, it still has no character. The SCG is one of the worst wickets in terms of decks that have lost their character, it used to be a spinners paradise, we used to pick two spinners for this test! Not so much anymore. Hobart may be our final hope, at times this wicket has offered a bit of moisture and grass and created some life but we will see.
One day and T-20 cricket are for the batsmen. Test cricket should always be more bowler friendly, it is supposed to be an even contest between bat and ball not just a slog out until someone declares or teams go all out in the 500's after nearly 2 days for batting.
Australian wickets that do nothing off the seam and don't offer a bit of spin on the last day at least are not classic Australian wickets and are going to do more harm than good to the game as we've seen.
It's boring, no one wants to watch bowlers unable to get any sideways movement and watch batsmen smash it around all over the place without challenge. The beauty of test cricket is that it's a contest between bat and ball, watching a bowler execute their skills, making the ball talk and the batsman negotiating this is the best thing about the red ball game and so far we haven't seen this and are unlikely to. Uninteresting, uneventful boring cricket is not what test matches were ever about. Cricket Australia and the curators have really failed thus far to deliver something worth watching.
The sub continent is still the sub continent, wickets are dry and they spin. England is still England, the ball swings around and nips around off the pitch. New Zealand is still new Zealand, there's usually a bit of swing and a bit off the wickets at times. South African Wickets are still more or less classic wickets of their continent with the swing, seam and bounce etc...
Australian wickets aren't Australian wickets anymore, in fact they are nothing. The classic Australian wicket was hard with a bit of bounce and a bit off the deck for a start that would then wear and become more spin friendly. Now they are one day wickets that could be comfortably played on for 6 or 7 days. Our wickets had character. Brisbane has always been a bit of a road that did a bit off the seam and spun and bounced a bit, it's still similar but not quite. The WACA is dead, it's a road, consistent bounce, very little sideways movement, not much to offer from cracking, doesn't ware and doesn't bounce like it used to. Adelaide will be a road, you'd hope to see some reverse swing and spin in Adelaide but I'm not expecting much. Melbourne wicket is boring but at least sometimes it can be a bit two paced, it still has no character. The SCG is one of the worst wickets in terms of decks that have lost their character, it used to be a spinners paradise, we used to pick two spinners for this test! Not so much anymore. Hobart may be our final hope, at times this wicket has offered a bit of moisture and grass and created some life but we will see.
One day and T-20 cricket are for the batsmen. Test cricket should always be more bowler friendly, it is supposed to be an even contest between bat and ball not just a slog out until someone declares or teams go all out in the 500's after nearly 2 days for batting.
Australian wickets that do nothing off the seam and don't offer a bit of spin on the last day at least are not classic Australian wickets and are going to do more harm than good to the game as we've seen.
It's boring, no one wants to watch bowlers unable to get any sideways movement and watch batsmen smash it around all over the place without challenge. The beauty of test cricket is that it's a contest between bat and ball, watching a bowler execute their skills, making the ball talk and the batsman negotiating this is the best thing about the red ball game and so far we haven't seen this and are unlikely to. Uninteresting, uneventful boring cricket is not what test matches were ever about. Cricket Australia and the curators have really failed thus far to deliver something worth watching.
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Wouldn't that be a great way to square the ledger: bowlers can tamper with the ball in any way? Bit crazy but would make things very interesting.
- Jun 16, 2012
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I think roads are ok, but they need to be in moderation. Shouldn't be the standard. Maybe 1 road a series would be alright, but you want to see a bit of variety. Wouldn't mind the odd green monster style pitch either. But you want the standard to have some life in it
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