
After only two days of play, the International Cricket Council did not give the Gabba pitch the dreaded classification of “bad” even though the first Test between Australia and South Africa was over so quickly.
On Sunday, the side captained by Pat Cummins took a 1-0 lead in the best-of-three series when their opponents lost 34 wickets in just six sessions of play. This was the first test match played on Australian soil in the last 91 years and completed in less than two days.
According to the referee for the match, Richie Richardson, the pitch was rated as “below ordinary,” and he stated that it was “not an even game between bat and ball.”
The International Cricket Council has given the Gabba pitch a rating of ‘below ordinary.’ ICC match referee Richie Richardson said: “Overall, the Gabba surface for this Test match was too much in favor of the bowlers. There was an abnormal amount of bounce, as well as some excessive seam movement here and there. On the second day, the odd delivery also maintained low, making it extremely challenging for batters to form partnerships. It was not a fair match between bat and ball. Thus I rated the pitch as “below average” according to the International Cricket Council (ICC) criteria. The report compiled by Richardson has been sent on to Cricket Australia.
The Gabba pitch has the potential to put athletes in harm’s way.
In his post-match news conference, Proteas captain Dean Elgar called the pitch “hazardous” and said he asked the umpires how much further the match should continue until it was judged unsafe. Elgar said he asked the umpires how much longer the match should go until it was deemed unsafe.
After Australia’s Test match ran for two days, the quality of the playing surface came under fire from commentators.
Elgar was quoted as saying, “I don’t think that was a very good Test wicket.”
Pat Cummins, the captain of Australia, was perplexed by Elgar’s assessment but conceded that a test match lasting only two days “certainly isn’t ideal.”
Daniel Vettori, an assistant coach for the Australian national cricket team; stated that losing the occasional test match is not the worst thing.
He stated, “I guess I have seen worse,” and I paraphrased:
It was just incredibly tough conditions, and as a bowling club, you don’t mind it every once in a while.
What Marbus Labuschagne Think About The Pitch?
Marbus Labuschagne, a prominent player for Australia; stated that the high standard of bowling attacks displayed by both teams deserved an improved pitch.
He stated that he had the impression that he was playing a Shield game.
“We’ve seen a fair number of wickets like that (at the Gabba); but clearly, you don’t have two teams with bowling attacks of four or five men bowling over 150 (km/h); that’s probably the difference.” “We’ve seen a fair few wickets like that (at the Gabba).”
The five-day test match format of cricket is an endurance test. Is it possible for the batter to outlast the bowler? It’s a strategic game, and when you play on a wicket like this; it pushes the competition to a much higher level. On a track like that, it’s like a game of chance to see who will gain the upper hand first. “With such a formidable bowling attack; they sacrificed a little bit on their batting since they play the four quicks and a spinner.” In light of the fact that you probably didn’t need five bowlers on a pitch like that; that worked out in our favor in this game.
The International Cricket Council has penalized one demerit point from the venue in Brisbane for constructing a pitch that was so green and bowler-friendly.
The point of negative conduct will remain on Gabba’s record for the subsequent five years.
If a stadium is given five points for negative behavior, it can be disqualified from hosting international matches.
It is a better result for the Gabba than many people had anticipated; with some experts anticipating that it could be given a ‘poor’ rating as the MCG did in 2017.
The pitch for the Boxing Day Test was criticized after the last match; which ended in a dreary stalemate with only 24 wickets taken over the course of five days.
The International Cricket Council gave Cricket Australia a deadline of 14 days to explain why the MCG wicket did not meet the required standards.