The latest Aussies-Proteas conflict on the Gabba was completed in beneath six periods after a whopping 34 wickets have been taken in two days. It was simply the second time a Test in Australia had completed so early.
The view amongst pundits was the heavy layer of grass and delicate underbelly of the Gabba wicket generated extra seam motion and, subsequently, helped each bowling assaults considerably.
ICC match referee Richie Richardson on Tuesday night time handed down his findings, ranking the Brisbane deck ‘below average’, It means the Gabba obtained one demerit level beneath the ICC pitch and outfield monitoring course of.
“Overall, the Gabba pitch for this Test match was too much in favour of the bowlers,” he mentioned.
“There was extra bounce and occasional excessive seam movement. The odd delivery also kept low on the second day, making it very difficult for batters to build partnerships.
“I found the pitch to be below average as per the ICC guidelines since it was not an even contest between bat and ball.”
South African skipper Dean Elgar requested the umpires whether or not the pitch was secure throughout the recreation and continued that harsh criticism post-match.
“Thirty-four wickets in two days – pretty one-sided affair, I would say,” he mentioned.
“How it started to play with some seriously steep bounce with the old ball, you are kind of on a hiding to none as a batting unit.
“If you think about it, only two or maybe three batters, applied themselves half-decently and scored runs.
“I don’t think it was a very good Test wicket, no.”
Australian star Marbus Labuschagne mentioned the standard of bowling assaults on either side demanded a greater wicket.
“It felt a bit like a Shield game,” he mentioned.
“We’ve seen a fair few wickets like that (at the Gabba), but obviously you don’t have two sides with bowling attacks of four or five guys bowling over 150 (km/h), that’s probably the difference.
“Test cricket is an endurance battle. Can the batter outlast the bowler? It’s a strategical game and obviously when you play on a wicket like this it brings the match so close together.
“It becomes a little bit of a lottery about who gets the upper hand on a wicket like that.
“With such a good bowling attack, they sacrificed a little bit on their batting because they play the four quicks and a spinner. That played into our advantage this game because you probably didn’t need five bowlers on a wicket like that.”
— with NCA Newswire
Originally revealed as ‘Below average’: Gabba cops demerit level for Australia-South Africa first Test pitch
