Last Updated on 29 seconds ago by Charbel Coorey
Mackay stadium curator Peter Kazakoff has called for groundstaff around the world to adapt to Test cricket’s very different landscape.
The second Test between Australia and Bangladesh was over in 750 balls – the third two-day encounter in Australia’s last seven matches. It prompted debates around the surface in Mackay and whether it was up to standard, but the quality of the batting was questionable.
Curators need to adapt to more aggressive approach in Test cricket – Peter Kazakoff
Bangladesh struggled against a rampant Mitchell Starc on the first morning, before the Australians also struggled. Just 369 runs were scored in one of the quickets Test matches of all time.
However, Kazakoff spoke of his surprise after 18 wickets fell on day one and believes curators around the world need to adapt to a more aggressive approach in Test cricket.
“Definitely the game has changed the way the batsmen approach it,” he told ABC Radio, as quoted by The Age. “It’s so much more aggressive now. No doubt as curators, we’ve got to adapt to that. It’s not an 18-wicket pitch, by far. These things happen.
“Test cricket’s changed; cricket’s changed. We’ve got to try to work with that as well. We probably have to tone it down a fraction than we would’ve in previous years, just to keep up with the modern trend of international cricket.
“T20 cricket has made a huge mark on Test cricket now. I think everyone is just adapting to it.”
A shift towards flatter pitches around Australia may not be too far away. The rise of two-day Tests is a financial nightmare for Cricket Australia (CA), and there is also the issue of batsmen finding the going difficult on spicy pitches in the Sheffield Shield. Last season, none of the top 10 run-scorers averaged 40.
According to reports, CA has briefed curators around Australia to produce more balanced pitches for Shield cricket. It will be interesting to see what the surfaces are like for Australia’s four-match series at home to a strong New Zealand team who boast an excellent pace attack.
“We don’t manage curators, we don’t employ them … but clearly we have an interest in the outcomes they provide,” Peter Roach, CA’s head of scheduling and domestic cricket, said in July, as quoted by cricinfo.
“We all want to see a good balance between bat and ball, we want the games to go a reasonable distance… so when you’re seeing games finish in two days and two and a half days, as the case may be in Shield matches, and we see across the board a season where we’re seeing less runs and less overs of spin being bowled, they’re things that we try and discuss with our stakeholders around the country.”
