The SCG pitch for the
final Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series against India, which was dominated by pace bowlers who gained lavish seam movement and some uneven bounce, has been rated “satisfactory” by the ICC match referee, and Cricket Australia has termed it a “step in the right direction” for surfaces at the venue.
The groundsman used a new variety of grass for this season’s Test pitch, having trialled it during last summer’s Sheffield Shield, and it resulted in the third-shortest Sydney Test of all time – with an outright result –
based on deliveries bowled. Only two half-centuries were scored, one from debutant Beau Webster and the other a stunning 33-ball counterattack by Rishabh Pant.
Australia opener
Usman Khawaja called the pitch a “stinker” after the game, but his captain
Pat Cummins said he would rather conditions tilt towards helping the bowlers, even though his team only needed a draw to win the series, while India coach
Gautam Gambhir went further and said such pitches were important for the future of Test cricket.
However, former Australia captain
Michael Clarke was highly critical of the surface. “The SCG is my favourite ground in the world, it is my home ground, and I hate saying this out loud, but that’s the worst pitch I’ve ever seen in Sydney,” he told ESPN’s
Around The Wicket. “I didn’t think it was a good cricket wicket, balls not just going up off the surface but shooting low at the end of day two.”
This is the second season in a row that the SCG has been rated satisfactory after receiving the same mark for the Pakistan Test a year ago.
“We don’t look to prepare wickets that favour the home side or suit our situation in a series,” Peter Roach, Cricket Australia’s head of cricket operations and scheduling, said. “What we seek is a good contest between bat and ball and pitches that are likely to produce a result.
“The SCG has been striving to bring out their unique characteristics of early pace and bounce before the pitch wears and spins. This year was a step in the right direction to achieving this which provided an exciting finish to the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series and bodes well for the Ashes summer in 2025-26.”
“Traditionally here it’s quite benign and we’ve had a lot of draws, so a lot of people have been talking about the draws, so you’re damned if you do it and damned if you don’t”
Andrew McDonald
The pitch ratings system was revamped in 2023 to reduce the number of categories from six to four: very good, satisfactory, unsatisfactory, and unfit. Venues are given demerit points if they receive unsatisfactory or unfit ratings.
The SCG has previously been criticised for pitches not offering enough assistance for bowlers, which, coupled with poor weather, led to four draws in five seasons between 2018-19 and 2022-23.
“The ground staff have done an incredible job in terms of creating a wicket with something in it,” Australia coach
Andrew McDonald said after day two. “Traditionally here it’s quite benign and we’ve had a lot of draws, so a lot of people have been talking about the draws, so you’re damned if you do it and damned if you don’t. I think he’s trying to produce an even contest between bat and ball. It’s made for interesting cricket.”
The other four pitches in the series – at Perth’s Optus Stadium, Adelaide Oval, the Gabba and MCG – all received “very good” ratings.
