What makes a good test pitch?

[cnerd123]

Issue with pitches isn't seam or turn. It's uneven turn which this pitch saw from day 1. Usually pitches have that from day 4 or 5. If there was a pitch offering uneven seam movement off the surface from day 1, it would come under lot of criticism too. It's not a west v east issue ffs.

Please find me one pitch that has ever been labelled poor on account of inconsistent seam movement; and don't tell me you can't find any because such a pitch has never existed.

 

[AndyZaltzHair]

As any pitch ever been rated as poor for offering excessive seam movement to quick bowlers? Only seems like turning pitches or flat pitches get reported.

I don't have issues with turning pitches if bounce is even. The problem with Nagpur pitch was that it had uneven bounce. We have seen Saha taking few deliveries above his waist height from spinners. Then there was this ball from Mishra keeping it low which got faf. Some of 135 kph deliveries from Ishant bounced in front of Saha although he was standing pretty close. Similarly no issues with if pitch offers excessive seam movement from day 1 if it has even bounce and mostly those pitches will offer even bounce(?) and will tend to settle a bit as sessions progress. Turners from day 1 can only a) remain same b) deteriorate further. Although it can become batting friendly from day 4 or 5 but the match will be decided by then mostly.

Flat pitches that are slow and low should be taken into account as not good like the 1st Test between England and Pakistan where Shoaib Malik got the double or the one in Khulna between BD and Pakistan where three batsmen got doubles. These pitches are absolutely dead for slowness. In defence of Perth pitch, although batsmen stacked up runs, it was not as dead as the above mentioned.

 

[Black_Warrior]

Guys I'm not a Precam multi I swear

http://www.cricketweb.net/forum/cricket-chat/40644-what-s-good-pitch.html

 

[Black_Warrior]

I don't have issues with turning pitches if bounce is even. The problem with Nagpur pitch was that it had uneven bounce. We have seen Saha taking few deliveries above his waist height from spinners. Then there was this ball from Mishra keeping it low which got faf. Some of 135 kph deliveries from Ishant bounced in front of Saha although he was standing pretty close. Similarly no issues with if pitch offers excessive seam movement from day 1 if it has even bounce and mostly those pitches will offer even bounce(?) and will tend to settle a bit as sessions progress. Turners from day 1 can only a) remain same b) deteriorate further. Although it can become batting friendly from day 4 or 5 but the match will be decided by then mostly.

Flat pitches that are slow and low should be taken into account as not good like the 1st Test between England and Pakistan where Shoaib Malik got the double or the one in Khulna between BD and Pakistan where three batsmen got doubles. These pitches are absolutely dead for slowness. In defence of Perth pitch, although batsmen stacked up runs, it was not as dead as the above mentioned.

I agree with this totally. I would just like to add though that uneven bounce is seen from to time in SC tracks. I am not sure if it has to do with the physical conditions but I doubt it's something curators intend to do because that's basically asking for criticism if it happens from Day 1. I didn't get to see Day 1 and 2 of the third test, but yeah the uneven bounce thing can sometimes be beyond the control of the curators.

 

[cnerd123]

Guys I'm not a Precam multi I swear

http://www.cricketweb.net/forum/cricket-chat/40644-what-s-good-pitch.html

Dw we all already know who the Precam multi is.

 

[AndyZaltzHair]

I agree with this totally. I would just like to add though that uneven bounce is seen from to time in SC tracks. I am not sure if it has to do with the physical conditions but I doubt it's something curators intend to do because that's basically asking for criticism if it happens from Day 1. I didn't get to see Day 1 and 2 of the third test, but yeah the uneven bounce thing can sometimes be beyond the control of the curators.

Think it's not possible to make a turner from session 1 without hampering bounce. It's like package.

 

[cnerd123]

I disagree that uneven bounce is an issue. Cricket has been played on pitches that have bounced unevenly from the day it has been invented. It's why every batting coaching textbook on the planet will tell you to play with a vertical bat. There have been so many bowlers in the history of the game who have exploited uneven surfaces, and so many batsmen who have shown incredible skill to overcome them. Heck it is such a part of the game, that even Battrick has a pitch classification called 'Uneven'. I vehemently disagree that we need to eradicate that from modern pitches.

It's only an issue, IMO, if the bounce is extreme and unpredictable to the extent where the batsmen are in actual bodily harm. But again, that wasn't the case in Nagpur.

 

[Pratters]

I doubt these pitches are being prepared purposefully even. Last few years, we have seen a whole array of pitches in domestic cricket which have uneven bounce and teams crumbling for low scores. It's an issue which needs to be dealt with properly. Last week, Bengal played Orissa in a Ranji game with an underprepared wicket. Same issue in a game of Tamil Nadu.

 

[indiaholic]

Mostly agree but uneven bounce allows short rubbish from spinners to go unpunished which makes me rage hard..

 

[cnerd123]

Mostly agree but uneven bounce allows short rubbish from spinners to go unpunished which makes me rage hard..

I mean honestly, I think the entire bowling records of guys like Viv Richards have benefited so much from the pitches they bowled on.

Doesn't make the pitches poor tho.

 

[cnerd123]

I doubt these pitches are being prepared purposefully even. Last few years, we have seen a whole array of pitches in domestic cricket which have uneven bounce and teams crumbling for low scores. It's an issue which needs to be dealt with properly. Last week, Bengal played Orissa in a Ranji game with an underprepared wicket. Same issue in a game of Tamil Nadu.

Oh yea, totally agree the prevalence of result-oriented wickets in Ranji cricket is a huge issue. They are deliberately being prepared to provide outright victories, and to heavily favour the home side's bowling attacks. That's why so many pitches in Ranji right now either massively benefit medium pacers or spinners. It's a huge issue and something the BCCI needs to address.

Pitches like Mohail and Nagpur at Test level are not a problem tho.

 

[wellAlbidarned]

any pitch where a spinner can drag it halfway down and be legitmately threatening is a poor pitch

 

[Pratters]

Mohali and Nagpur should not be looked at in isolation. They are just two of many such pitches. I am glad you mentioned seam because seam underprepared pitches also exist. As I have repeatedly said, one such pitch in a test match can be okay as a novelty factor but when we have two and then many more as we can win matches on these more than the opponents, it's not a good situation.

 

[OverratedSanity]

Hey guys remember when Curtly tore England a new one and bowled them out for 45? He bowled Thorpe with a grubber than barely got up above poor Graham's ankle. Everyone remembers that as an ATG bowling performance and not a decent performance overshadowed by an unplayable pitch.

 

[cnerd123]

any pitch where a spinner can drag it halfway down and be legitmately threatening is a poor pitch

Whereas any pitch where a fast bowler can drag it half way down and be legitmately threatening is okay?

 

[OverratedSanity]

Mohali and Nagpur should not be looked at in isolation. They are just two of many such pitches. I am glad you mentioned seam because seam underprepared pitches also exist. As I have repeatedly said, one such pitch in a test match can be okay as a novelty factor but when we have two and then many more as we can win matches on these more than the opponents, it's not a good situation.

Not true

 

[Pratters]

Whereas any pitch where a fast bowler can drag it half way down and be legitmately threatening is okay?

No. They are not okay either.

 

[cnerd123]

Mohali and Nagpur should not be looked at in isolation. They are just two of many such pitches. I am glad you mentioned seam because seam underprepared pitches also exist. As I have repeatedly said, one such pitch in a test match can be okay as a novelty factor but when we have two and then many more as we can win matches on these more than the opponents, it's not a good situation.

Does your 'one is okay but two is bad' apply to every kind of pitch in existence? Like, do you not want two consecutive tests in a series being played on similar surfaces to ever happen, regardless of the surface in question? Or only the Mohali/Nagpur style pitch?

 

[Pratters]

Not a fan of underprepared poor pitches. I can live with one once in a while though.

 

[cnerd123]

No. They are not okay either.

So those Australia pitches where Mitch wrecked everyone were poor pitches?

Aslo see OS's post about Curtly's spell.