morgieb
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Inspired by a discussion of pitch conditions on another forum, what are the main conditions/characteristics of the wickets in your country?
For Australia:
* Gabba - lots of bounce but not quite to the extent of the WACA, always something in it for the bowlers but there are runs on offer if you can take your opportunities and get set. Gets the most rain of any Australian ground so pitches can vary due to lack of preparation - I have seen real roads come out of the Gabba, I have seen greentops too. Also worth noting that unlike the WACA, the bounce here suits spinners as well as quicks - it was Shane Warne's best ground in Australia.
* WACA - probably the bounciest wicket in the world, but in a way that only quicks can exploit it. For a few years was a road. Notouriously hard to get set on but you get full value for your shots if you get set.
* Adelaide - has a case of being the biggest road in the world. Often takes turn on the last two days though so an obvious bat first pitch. Pretty much every Australian batsmen you can think has an amazing record here.
* Hobart - used to be an Adelaide-esque road. These days however (especially a couple of years ago) Bellerive is the greenest wicket in Australia, a fast-bowling haven. Don't remember if this has changed since CA stepped in to try to stop result wickets at Shield level, especially given we haven't played Tests there recently.
* MCG - a drop-in, accordingly lower and slower than most Australian wickets (though still has more pace than the majority of the wickets around the world). Tends to be pretty good for batting but there's generally something in it for the bowlers.
* SCG - traditionally a real turner, but these days this isn't really true. For the most part the pitch varies IIRC, can be a greentop (that Test against Pakistan), can also be very flat (pretty much every Test we've played there against India in recent years).
* Manuka - smallest wicket in Australia that they play internationals at IIRC, therefore in ODI's the ground is generally a run fest.
For Australia:
* Gabba - lots of bounce but not quite to the extent of the WACA, always something in it for the bowlers but there are runs on offer if you can take your opportunities and get set. Gets the most rain of any Australian ground so pitches can vary due to lack of preparation - I have seen real roads come out of the Gabba, I have seen greentops too. Also worth noting that unlike the WACA, the bounce here suits spinners as well as quicks - it was Shane Warne's best ground in Australia.
* WACA - probably the bounciest wicket in the world, but in a way that only quicks can exploit it. For a few years was a road. Notouriously hard to get set on but you get full value for your shots if you get set.
* Adelaide - has a case of being the biggest road in the world. Often takes turn on the last two days though so an obvious bat first pitch. Pretty much every Australian batsmen you can think has an amazing record here.
* Hobart - used to be an Adelaide-esque road. These days however (especially a couple of years ago) Bellerive is the greenest wicket in Australia, a fast-bowling haven. Don't remember if this has changed since CA stepped in to try to stop result wickets at Shield level, especially given we haven't played Tests there recently.
* MCG - a drop-in, accordingly lower and slower than most Australian wickets (though still has more pace than the majority of the wickets around the world). Tends to be pretty good for batting but there's generally something in it for the bowlers.
* SCG - traditionally a real turner, but these days this isn't really true. For the most part the pitch varies IIRC, can be a greentop (that Test against Pakistan), can also be very flat (pretty much every Test we've played there against India in recent years).
* Manuka - smallest wicket in Australia that they play internationals at IIRC, therefore in ODI's the ground is generally a run fest.