Shamefully flat SCG pitch rebuilt

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M. Conn:

'... it will be on a brand-new surface after the wicket square was completely relaid, creating extra bounce and carry for the ball going through to the wicketkeeper.

“In that process of doing our testing, we found a bit of contamination from old grass. We found we had like an organic sort of dead layer there.

“Straight after the summer season last year we actually shaved off the whole of the square. And we took about 30mm off, which took out that dead layer. And then we replaced it with 30mm of Bulli fresh, moist soil.

“We returfed the whole square and put down to Tahoma 31, which is a new grass that’s been in Australia for about five years now. We’ve done a bit of testing on it already on the outfield, and on a couple of local grounds on the wickets. And we’re getting great responses from it.”

The pitches in the middle of the square, which includes the Test pitch, have been relaid with traditional SCG grass.
...

NSW captain Moises Henriques claimed that the first Shield pitch at the SCG this season ... was the best he had played on at the ground for at least five years.

Henriques is hopeful SCG pitches will start to offer more of the traditional turn the ground was once known for.

“It’s important we have at least one spinning pitch around the country,” Henriques told this masthead. “With so much cricket now played on the subcontinent, it’s vital that players learn to bowl and bat on spinning pitches. It’s an important part of a player’s education.”

Cricket Australia’s cricket operations manager Peter Roach claimed CA was working closely with curators around the country so that pitches retain or regain their traditional characteristics.

“I know Adam and his ground staff are certainly working towards that [a spinning pitch],” Roach said.'

https://www.smh.com.au/sport/cricket/respected-warner-to-play-retirement-test-on-a-revitalised-scg-pitch-20231231-p5eucv.html

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Video:

'We thought it was going to spin a bit more': Cummins

08 Jan 2023 19:31

'... but praised his bowlers for their toil on day five'

https://www.cricket.com.au/videos/3013295/we-thought-it-was-going-to-spin-a-bit-more-cummins

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Day 2, 4 Jan, 2024:

'Speaking to SEN before play, paceman Josh Hazlewood described the wicket as being "pretty dead, to be honest" while Nathan Lyon forecasted "a slow grind" over the coming days.'

(cricket.com.au)


Maybe Hazlewood & Lyon were a wee bit happier after Day 3...

But Michael Vaughan was right, commentating Hazlewood's W.W.W. over: The ball did nothing in that over. Atrocious batting to straight balls.

[23 YIPPEE!!!]

Desperately needs a drop in ptich.

its about time they made a better pitch.

talk about a slow dead one.

its 2024 and still no drop in.

[Pies4shaw]

^ Pakistan losing 8 for 57 on the third day of a Test, with Hazlewood taking 3 wickets in one over, not lively enough for you?

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[23 YIPPEE!!!]

Do we think the MCG should go back to permanent pitches and like are there during the footy season like the old days.

Always remember that first part of the ground that gets muddy first always the centre.

In a way this made the pitches even more unpredictable when it got muddy march-sept only to bat on it in october.

Must say the SCG was most intrigeing ptich of the summer thus far.

Still thought thr MCG one was a dead road with little movement.

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Geoff Lawson:

Adelaide Test shows AFL footy and drop-in pitches have a lot to answer for

"What has changed – and I look from the perspective of someone who played many times on that billiard table outfield and concrete slab pitch – is the pitch.

Drop-in pitches have become de rigueur on major multipurpose sports fields because the footballers can’t cope with some grassless patches and a change in soil type as they run through the centre of the ground. The homogeneity of a football surface is anathema to cricket played with variety.

Test pitches need to evolve over five days (or three or four on current trends); grass needs to wither; clay dehydrate; spikes need to rough and gouge; bounce declines; spin advances; batters and bowlers need to be adaptable and flexible. The best players are the best players in all circumstances, whether that be dealing with scoreboard pressure or a deteriorating surface or facing spin or blunting the new ball. Cricket changes; football wants, nay demands, an unchanging scenario.

The Adelaide Test pitch was a graphic illustration of how football changes cricket."

(SMH)

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Justin Langer:

"I said, I want to come out of retirement. Because it's a brilliant batting wicket."

(Oz v. WI 2nd Test, Gabba)

[Pies4shaw]

Only one batsman (the greatest player since Bradman) reaches 80 in the Test - Langer missed that one by a mile. Not surprising, really - Langer averaged 3 against the WIndies at the Gabba, so he probably wouldn't know what a good wicket looked like, there.

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