tooextracool said:
on the whole? how many of the last 20 test matches in australia have been on test quality wickets?
Well, I rather dislike the trend in pitches of late in Australia along with the rest of the world, but aside from the farcical Indian series I wouldn't say many of the test pitches in the last couple of years have actually been not of test quality.
Brisbane vs England - not too bad, offered a bit for the bowlers. Fairly flat, but not a shocker.
Adelaide vs England - I don't remember this match very well to be honest, but the scorecard makes it look like standard Adelaide stuff, excellent for batting early and taking turn later.
Perth vs England - Standard WACA pitch, certainly of test standard.
Melbourne vs England - Road.
Sydney vs England - Not too bad, but not very spin friendly by Sydney standards.
Darwin vs Bangladesh - I don't remember. Looks like Bangladesh struggled on it.
Cairns vs Bangladesh - Very flat, but given the opposition it hardly mattered.
Perth vs Zimbabwe - Terrible wicket.
Sydney vs Zimbabwe - Standard Sydney pitch. Took plenty of turn, but Ray Price and Brad Hogg aren't the greatest bowlers to take advantage of it.
Brisbane vs India - Flat.
Adelaide vs India - Flat, dusted up and turned a lot on the 4th and 5th days. The best pitch of the series, which isn't saying much.
Melbourne vs India - Dead flat.
Sydney vs India - An absolute farce.
Darwin vs Sri Lanka - Seamer's paradise. Not a great wicket I suppose, but it was refreshing to see given the world trends.
Cairns vs Sri Lanka - Flat, but not so flat as to not be up to test standard.
Brisbane vs New Zealand - Flat, broke up later in the test though.
Adelaide vs New Zealand - An absolute shocker. Without McGrath, a certain draw.
Perth vs Pakistan - Quite flat, but some quality pace bowling on both sides made it look better than it was.
Melbourne vs Pakistan - Flat, but not too bad.
Sydney vs Pakistan - Good Sydney turner.
All in all, maybe a quarter of them were too flat to be played on, and one had a bit too much in it for the bowlers. A couple of good wickets, and all the rest were flat but had enough that they were at least up to test standard. I certainly wouldn't say most of them were any worse than what is being offered up throughout the rest of the world.