Saving The Test by Mike Jakeman

Author:Mike Jakeman
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Publisher: Ockley Books Ltd
Published: 2013-10-16T18:30:00+00:00

Misreading the pitch can also have dire consequences. For decades, Len Hutton’s decision to put the Australians in at Brisbane in 1954 was the classic cautionary tale. “Never before had an England captain taken such a gamble in Australia,” Wisden reported. The home side racked up 601-8; England made 190 and 257. Hutton did, however, have the excuse that the uncovered pitch was soaked not long into England’s innings, changing its character entirely. Fifty years later, Nasser Hussain had no such excuse when he made the same choice at The Gabba—clearly a ground that does strange things to England captains—on the first morning of the 2002-03 Ashes. After a conversation with Marcus Trescothick in the nets, where the ball was moving in the air, he felt that England’s best chance of gaining the upper hand was to take early wickets. As he recounted to The Observer, “The ball swung a bit at first and I thought: ‘Maybe this is going to work out.’ But, by the fifth or sixth over, nothing was happening and the world was closing in on me. I thought to myself: ‘Oh God, Nass, what have you done?’ “ At the end of the first day, Australia were 364-2. England lost the game heavily and, soon after, the series. These examples emphasise the role that the pitch plays in the Test match; no England football captain has ever been blamed for a defeat because he chose the wrong end to kick from.

Because of the influential role that the pitch plays, it is crucial that good surfaces are prepared, in order to enable a contest between batsman and bowler to take place. Superficially, there appears to be a consensus on how a good pitch will behave. Ask a cricketer, administrator or journalist what a good pitch will do, and chances are the response will be similar. Here’s former Kent, Middlesex and England batsman, Ed Smith: “Cricket is at its best when there is a balance [between bat and ball].” And Mike Griffith: “What we want is pace, bounce and the pitch deteriorating towards the end of the match, so that the spinners play their part.” And Mike Brearley: “I admire those groundsmen who are prepared to take a chance by going for hard, dry bouncy pitches that favour fast bowlers and genuine spinners, and make more pronounced the gulf between class batsmen and the rest.” And current Australian Test batsman, Ed Cowan: “I like my cricket being an even contest between bat and ball.” And the Argus Report commissioned by Cricket Australia (CA): “Each pitch should offer a good balance between bat and ball. The toss should not be decisive.” And, finally, former Sussex captain, John Barclay: “The ‘best’ surface is one that is going to, at some stage, help the batsmen, but good bowling can also be assisted.”

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