The Flat Deck Problem

[KissKiss]

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

Yep Adelaide used to be fine as a road as it provided a change from the Gabba and WACA but when they are all the same its boring. So far this series has been crap and I have watched the least cricket I have seen in a long time. I blame it all on the pitches.

I agree with the thought that one of the worst things CA has done has been flatten out all the pitches

 

[MisterMarcus]

Cricket Australia need to ask themselves a question. What's more important?

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

 

[Bucking Beads]

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

Exactly. We need the character back in our wickets. SCG, MCG and Adelaide will generally be good batting tracks for most of the match. The Gabba should be green and the WACA should be fast.

 

[Underdog]

I don't think 'flat' pitches are the problem, moreso pitches which are too consistent across the duration of test matches.

A team making a big first innings score is fine, but at some stage you want batting conditions to be unfavourable for a reason other than a gulf in quality/performance between the two competing sides.

In the good old days of the WACA you had searing pace and bounce. The wicketkeeper would've been outside where they put the boundary rope now... As a bowler you got good pace and bounce from the wicket and as a batsman once you got in you got good value for your shots. As the test wore on the pitch would start to break up and there would be uneven bounce for the pace bowlers and a bit of turn for the spinners.

If you bowled first you had the chance to get the most out of the fast wicket. If you batted first you could build a score if you batted patiently and wouldn't need to bat in the 4th innings.

What I've seen the last two days just looks like the team batting first making a huge score then the team batting second coming out knowing they basically need to also make a huge score just to save a draw. Maybe the pitch will crack up a bit on day 3-5 but I'll wait and see on that.

It may just be my romanticised memory of test cricket, but I always felt that day 5 should be almost a minefield, which lead to a lot of unpredictability and excitement in finishes. These days, the pitch on day 5 looks barely different to any other day.

 

[Scotland]

Do CA get more money from Channel 9 if tests go for 5 days?

From what I've seen crowds on days 4 and 5 tend to be minimal so I doubt they'd make any money from that.

 

[Stopher]

It may just be my romanticised memory of test cricket, but I always felt that day 5 should be almost a minefield, which lead to a lot of unpredictability and excitement in finishes. These days, the pitch on day 5 looks barely different to any other day.

Yes, it was the brilliance of Shane Warne to some degree, but he isn't getting that wicket in 2015.

 

[Demosthenes]

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.

Part of the reason the fielding team isn't allowed to tamper with the ball is that it barely makes it to 80 overs as is. How many balls did we replace last Test?

If you let bowlers pick apart the seam we'll be replacing multiple balls a day.

 

[G Mus]

How about 6 day tests even more records and TV money!!

 

[The Speaker]

How about 6 day tests even more records and TV money!!

Bring back timeless tests!

 

[Barry_Badrinath]

These pitches are actually hurting our ranking. Played on normal pitches, we win last years India series 4-0. Instead we settle for 2-0 and them hanging on for 2 draws.

Same deal this year.

 

[King Elvis]

Only a bunch of morons led by King Dickhead Sutherland would actually prepare pitches to make games boring and nobble their own side.

 

[DaRick]

Only a bunch of morons led by King Dickhead Sutherland would actually prepare pitches to make games boring and nobble their own side.

Dude thinks too much like a CFO who focuses on the bottom line, rather than for the greater good of the game.

 

[Adelaide Hawk]

Yep Adelaide used to be fine as a road as it provided a change from the Gabba and WACA but when they are all the same its boring. So far this series has been crap and I have watched the least cricket I have seen in a long time. I blame it all on the pitches.

I agree with the thought that one of the worst things CA has done has been flatten out all the pitches

I don't mind the flat wicket as such, it's the lack of life in them that concerns me. Perth has always been a flat deck, as are most Test pitches, but it's the lack of pace and bounce that is the concern. Let's face it, the last thing you need is a pitch that ISN'T flat, it would be a nightmare facing a 160kph seed on an uneven wicket.

I just wonder how much of this trend towards dead wickets has perpetuated since the death of Philip Hughes. Are administrators living in fear of litigation should another Hughes type incident occur, and instructing curators to remove the juice from Test wickets?

As you say, I used to welcome the Adelaide Test because after a seaming wicket on Brisbane and a quick bouncy wicket in Perth, it was nice to sit down and watch bat dominate ball for awhile, but if all the pitches are going to be like they have been this series, it's going to become almost unwatchable.

 

[Howard Littlejohn]

Is there a view flat decks prepared to ensure matches last longer than 3 days?

I think its also to get an increased run rate. The thinking seems to be that people love boundaries in the shortest form, therefore people want boundaries in the long form.
Slogfests in T20 are all well and good, but I like everyone to have to work for everything in Tests. Not super-juicy green tops that make batting impossible, but pitches that reward batsmen who can fight hard, and bowlers who can find the right length often enough.
It is difficult to get right though, especially in hot conditions where the pitch can bake and break up. It can make the toss too important if days four and five produce plating and play up and down almost at random. And groundsmen seem to err on the side of batting.

 

[Blue1980]

If given the 2 extremes I would prefer green tops which makes batting impossible over the roads we are getting now.

More days of test cricket means more advertising money for tv networks. Trouble is I and many others can't be bothered watching non contests between bat and ball.

Another factor I think must be drop in pitches, though the WACA has no excuse there.

I'm really looking forward to the Adelaide test as the new variables will lead to more of the unknown, the fact the pitch needs to have more grass on it for the ball to last is a definite plus.

 

[Blue1980]

I think its also to get an increased run rate. The thinking seems to be that people love boundaries in the shortest form, therefore people want boundaries in the long form.
Slogfests in T20 are all well and good, but I like everyone to have to work for everything in Tests. Not super-juicy green tops that make batting impossible, but pitches that reward batsmen who can fight hard, and bowlers who can find the right length often enough.
It is difficult to get right though, especially in hot conditions where the pitch can bake and break up. It can make the toss too important if days four and five produce plating and play up and down almost at random. And groundsmen seem to err on the side of batting.

I think scoring rates from the 80s and even early 90s would have us bored to death now.

Sides have been scoring quicker for at least since 2000. There have been a lot of tests where the run rate has been 3.5 plus but it's been a good even contest between bat and ball.

I am predicting we go to NZ early next year and we will see a repeat of the ashes where our batsmen won't have a clue on seeming wickets after playing on roads.

 

[JackOutback]

Mark Taylor calling for four-day Tests. Could that reduce the instances of flat decks being produced to make games last five days (note, they are also calling for an increase in overs per day, so the actual amount of playing time wouldn't change too much)?

MARK Taylor says this week’s pink ball extravaganza in Adelaide should be the starting point for a Test cricket revolution that streamlines the game into a four-day format, with a world championship as its pinnacle.

Having already led the charge with the inaugural day-night Test, Cricket Australia heavies are now throwing their weight behind other initiatives aimed at saving the traditional format of the game from alienating itself from young fans.

CA board member and former Test captain Taylor and chief executive James Sutherland are proponents of the ICC taking its lead from the PGA golfing tour and locking Test matches in as events that begin on Thursdays and build up to a climax on Sundays when most people can engage.

Sutherland is keen on this as a day-night model that would increase the amount of overs played in a single day from 90 to 100.

http://www.perthnow.com.au/sport/au...r/news-story/035ad296aaa2548e6ee41ce6c785efc4

 

[Stopher]

Yeah Day 5 not being a guarantee to even take place as well as often being on a Monday are two reasons crowds are generally poor, even if it can be one of the best days of a Test, though that is generally when the pitch has deteriorated, which is unfortunately a bit of a rarity in Australia nowadays.

 

[Bucking Beads]

4 day tests could work. I'd say they'd be 100 overs per day. Starting on a Thursday would be ideal for tests not in the holiday period.

 

[The Speaker]

So what happens when Boxing Day is not on a Thursday?

 

[Bucking Beads]

So what happens when Boxing Day is not on a Thursday?

It won't come into play for the boxing day and new years test. Both in holiday period.

 

[Doodlesweaver]

4 day tests could work. I'd say they'd be 100 overs per day. Starting on a Thursday would be ideal for tests not in the holiday period.

So what happens when the bowling side lags it and the batting side wastes time, do they play till midnight each day?

 

[Bucking Beads]

So what happens when the bowling side lags it and the batting side wastes time, do they play till midnight each day?

Would need much much more strict with over rates.

 

[Stopher]

http://www.espncricinfo.com/magazine/content/story/942931.html

• In these last four years, Australia have a 14-1 win-loss record in Tests at home, with a batting average of 50.34; in England and in Asia during the same period, they have a win-loss record of 2-12, and a batting average of 29.06
• Since January 2012, 25% of Tests in Australia have been drawn (5 from 20), up from 13% in the eight-year period between 2004 and 2011 (6 from 45)

 

[MisterMarcus]

Mark Taylor calling for four-day Tests. Could that reduce the instances of flat decks being produced to make games last five days (note, they are also calling for an increase in overs per day, so the actual amount of playing time wouldn't change too much)?

MARK Taylor says this week’s pink ball extravaganza in Adelaide should be the starting point for a Test cricket revolution that streamlines the game into a four-day format, with a world championship as its pinnacle.

Having already led the charge with the inaugural day-night Test, Cricket Australia heavies are now throwing their weight behind other initiatives aimed at saving the traditional format of the game from alienating itself from young fans.

CA board member and former Test captain Taylor and chief executive James Sutherland are proponents of the ICC taking its lead from the PGA golfing tour and locking Test matches in as events that begin on Thursdays and build up to a climax on Sundays when most people can engage.

Sutherland is keen on this as a day-night model that would increase the amount of overs played in a single day from 90 to 100.

http://www.perthnow.com.au/sport/au...r/news-story/035ad296aaa2548e6ee41ce6c785efc4

The big problem with shortening the game is that games like the last Test couldn't happen anymore. If one team racks up 500+ in the first innings, then the other side might as well give up and go home. With one day less to make the runs, they would need to declare well behind and hope the opposition sets up a generous position for them in the 4th innings.

Also, it could have the opposite effect to what Taylor is hoping for. With less time in the game, a team that's behind may actually decide it's easier to bat out time and grind out a dull draw.