‘He would be nervous’: Pressure mounts on SCG curator after MCG debacle

2 months ago 17

Pressure is mounting on SCG curator Adam Lewis to produce a high-quality pitch for the fifth Test in Sydney, with Cricket Australia chief executive Todd Greenberg saying the “spotlight” is on the venue and its staff ahead of the Ashes finale.

A green SCG pitch raised eyebrows last summer after the Australia-India Test finished well inside three days. No side scored more than 185 as Beau Webster hit the winning runs on debut to seal a six-wicket victory for the hosts.

Australia great Mark Waugh said at the time he had “never seen such a green wicket in Sydney”, and a repeat in the last Ashes fixture, starting on Sunday, would not sit well with Cricket Australia after a two-day clash in Melbourne.

CA is set to lose more than $10 million in gate takings, and the governing body can ill-afford another abbreviated contest due to conditions that are overly favourable to bowlers.

Greenberg stressed CA does not issue directives to curators, but said the Sydney pitch will come under scrutiny.

“I think people in Sydney will be knowing full well the spotlight will be on them in a day or two, and I’m really hoping the SCG wicket performs well for us,” Greenberg said on Sunday. “It’d be a good way to finish at the SCG with a really great Test match to finish what’s been an amazing series.

Mitchell Starc was among the wickets again as the batsmen struggled on a lively MCG wicket.

“I know there’s been some short Tests, but it’s been an incredible series, and it’ll be remembered for a long period of time for a variety of reasons. But I’m hopeful and confident Sydney will give us a good wicket.”

With no significant rain forecast before the fifth Test begins on January 4, Lewis and his team will have a perfect lead-in.

The SCG has hosted two Sheffield Shield matches this season. Both finished inside three days.

Victoria defeated NSW by 300 runs in mid-November after bowling the Blues out for 128 and 125.

Earlier this month, Sam Konstas made 116 in NSW’s first innings total of 7-471 declared against Queensland, before the visitors were dismissed for 92 and 181, delivering the hosts a 341-run win.

“I think after the last couple of days, he [the curator] would probably be a touch nervous up there,” Australia batsman Travis Head said.

“Everyone’s under pressure. It’s international cricket on a huge platform. Everyone wants to get it right, so there’s no doubt they’ll be doing everything they possibly can to make it a really good wicket to finish a great series.

“We can only go by the Shield games they’ve [hosted]. The news was it was pretty good, and then got a couple of cracks. We saw cracks on it last year with grass.”

MCG curator Matthew Page fronts the media on Sunday.

Former Australia fast bowler Brett Lee, who was inducted into the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame on Sunday, expects the Sydney pitch to be markedly different to the one in Melbourne.

Six of the past 11 SCG Tests have resulted in draws, mostly due to inclement weather.

“I don’t think we’ll see 10 millimetres of grass in Sydney [as there was in Melbourne],” Lee said. “I think Sydney will be a beautiful batting surface like what we’ve seen in recent times.

“I’m expecting a full five days of cricket up in Sydney. [This Test] made T20 cricket look slow. I don’t think we’ll see that in Sydney. I think it’s going to be that traditional Test wicket, and we’ll go into at least the fourth or fifth day.”

Meanwhile, Beau Webster and Josh Inglis have been released from Australia’s Test squad to play in the Big Bash.

Webster will play for the Hobart Hurricanes against the Melbourne Renegades on Monday, while Inglis will take the field for the Perth Scorchers against the Sydney Thunder on Tuesday. Both will return to the Test set-up on December 31 to prepare for the final Ashes Test.