*Official* Australia vs South Africa -2022/3

[CricAddict]

So , am I getting the terminology right ?

Doctored wicket : Bowling friendly pitch that gives more advantage to Home team than normal pitch

Bad wicket: Bowling friendly pitch that reduces the gap between Home Team and Away Team than normal pitch .

A bad wicket is a wicket that is dangerous to the players or a win toss win match wicket.

 

[Burgey]

So , am I getting the terminology right ?

Doctored wicket : Bowling friendly pitch that gives more advantage to Home team than normal pitch

Bad wicket: Bowling friendly pitch that reduces the gap between Home Team and Away Team than normal pitch .

It depends what your definition of "doctored" is. For me it's when something is dished up out of the ordinary for the surface being played on with a view to favoring the home side. Others might say it's when something is done to the pitch mid game to benefit the home team, though realistically in this day and age the chances of that happening are minuscule at the top level.

IMO the worst recent example of something falling within my definition was The Oval in 2009. Normally flat, good for batting and pretty fast by English standards, they dished up a dust bowl. In other words, they altered the usual characteristics of the pitch with a specific view of favoring their own side because at that time they had Swann in their team who hadn't yet capitulated and retired with his tail between his legs mid-series.

There's nothing illegal about it, of course. It just stinks like a dead cat in the middle of the road.

I also wouldn't say something in the SC which rags from day one is "doctored" if that's the way the pitch normally plays. It might be substandard (let's be honest, anything which favours spinners by definition is substandard because it's not real cricket, however, I digress) but that doesn't mean it's doctored. It's just the sad, underwhelming way the deck usually plays.

 

[TheJediBrah]

A bad wicket is a wicket that is dangerous to the players or a win toss win match wicket.

I agree. This wicket wasn't either though. If this wicket is bad you might have to expand the definition to cover any wicket with an uneven contest between bat and ball, like a lottery wicket or one so flat the bowlers don't have a chance

 

[Coronis]

Only took a whole 24 hours and 50 posts for Sunilz to realise people weren’t saying it was a good pitch. He’s learning.

 

[honestbharani]

I wonder how long it will take for the usual suspects to realize sunilz was talking about the hypocrisy and double standards against pitches that turn.

I mean, deficient folks like Burgey's obvious overcompensation attempts aside, the idiocy is there for all to see.

 

[TheGreatest]

I agree. This wicket wasn't either though. If this wicket is bad you might have to expand the definition to cover any wicket with an uneven contest between bat and ball, like a lottery wicket or one so flat the bowlers don't have a chance

Any game which finished in two days is played on a bad wicket. Simple!

 

[TheGreatest]

Double standards from the Aussies. Why don't they prepare these juicy wickets against India? Even last year Ashes pitches were lively.

 

[honestbharani]

IMO the worst recent example of something falling within my definition was The Oval in 2009. Normally flat, good for batting and pretty fast by English standards, they dished up a dust bowl. In other words, they altered the usual characteristics of the pitch with a specific view of favoring their own side because at that time they had Swann in their team who hadn't yet capitulated and retired with his tail between his legs mid-series.

The 2004 Nagpur pitch (and there was one more subsequently against RSA if I am not wrong) are the opposite of this when the home board went out of their way to prepare pitches that suited the opposition, against the nature of those tracks too.

 

[TheJediBrah]

The 2004 Nagpur pitch (and there was one more subsequently against RSA if I am not wrong) are the opposite of this when the home board went out of their way to prepare pitches that suited the opposition, against the nature of those tracks too.

Sounds like a lot of recent Australian pitches

 

[Burgey]

The 2004 Nagpur pitch (and there was one more subsequently against RSA if I am not wrong) are the opposite of this when the home board went out of their way to prepare pitches that suited the opposition, against the nature of those tracks too.

Haha indeed! I remember that and wondering WTAF was going on at the time. Didn’t the groundsman have a gripe against bcci or something so decided to dish up a couple of decks which helped the visitors?

should bring him back for March/ April h44r:

 

[Victor Ian]

I don't know what it is with Australian curators, but they have a long, sordid history of preparing pitches that suit the opponents and our board scheduling opponents on the pitches which best suit them. We are just decent people, in that regard.

 

[Starfighter]

I don't know what it is with Australian curators, but they have a long, sordid history of preparing pitches that suit the opponents and our board scheduling opponents on the pitches which best suit them. We are just decent people, in that regard.

They certainly seem to roll out the dull dry pitches when India come around. Except Perth in 2018, that was an epic pitch and I suspect the groundsman has been specifically instructed to never make one like that again.

 

[honestbharani]

Haha indeed! I remember that and wondering WTAF was going on at the time. Didn’t the groundsman have a gripe against bcci or something so decided to dish up a couple of decks which helped the visitors?

should bring him back for March/ April h44r:

They just hated Sourav.


Funnily enough, the other track was prepared coz they loved Sourav and wanted to protest him not being captain or something. Or maybe he was forced to retire and they did not like it. Our politics is always confusing.

 

[TheJediBrah]

Haha indeed! I remember that and wondering WTAF was going on at the time. Didn’t the groundsman have a gripe against bcci or something so decided to dish up a couple of decks which helped the visitors?

should bring him back for March/ April h44r:

That's actually legit? I didn't know that

Looks like the Mumbai curator did his best to try and make up for it

 

[Burgey]

The Mumbai pitch was probably the spin version of what we got in Brisbane this week, though Clarke taking 6/9 was genuinely insane.

did give us the greatest catch in cricket history though.

 

[Line and Length]

So , am I getting the terminology right ?

Doctored wicket : Bowling friendly pitch that gives more advantage to Home team than normal pitch

Bad wicket: Bowling friendly pitch that reduces the gap between Home Team and Away Team than normal pitch .

No.

Doctored wicket: Specially prepared pitch designed to give abnormal advantage to Home team.

Bad wicket: Poorly prepared wicket that affords bowlers an unfair advantage over batters.

 

[Burgey]

I don't know what it is with Australian curators, but they have a long, sordid history of preparing pitches that suit the opponents and our board scheduling opponents on the pitches which best suit them. We are just decent people, in that regard.

Fmd in the 80s the schedule vs the West Indies, who seemed to tour nearly every other year cos Kerry Packer loved them so much, was Gabba first up then Perth. 2-0 down after 5 combined days was regular fare. The side would be so demoralised it was insane

 

[Burgey]

Also, @JBMAC I heard Kim Hughes on the radio yesterday afternoon speaking about you in fairly glowing terms.

 

[TheGreatest]

Does the captain has any input in pitch preparation in Australia?

 

[Burgey]

Does the captain has any input in pitch preparation in Australia?

I've never heard of that happening.