Last Updated on 5 months ago by Charbel Coorey

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has given the Perth pitch a “very good” rating. The first Ashes Test finished inside two days, but the surface received a positive rating as it eased out on day two.

This rating is the highest possible, awarded to pitches with “good carry, limited seam movement, and consistent bounce early in the match, allowing for a balanced contest between batters and bowlers,” according to cricket.com.au.

Perth pitch gets “very good” rating despite two-day finish in Ashes Test

19 wickets fell on a chaotic first day. England were bundled out in 32.5 overs, before Australia were reduced to 123/9. The English bowlers in particular were quite hostile, generating good pace and bounce. However, this is a typical characteristic of Perth surfaces.

The pitch began to ease out on day two, with England’s poor second innings display the catalyst of their defeat. Numerous batsmen – namely Ollie Pope, Harry Brook and Joe Root – were out looking to drive on the up.

England were bowled out quickly once again, leaving Australia needing 205. Travis Head took the game by the scruff of the neck, scoring one of the great Ashes hundreds to flatten Ben Stokes’ team.

Sections of India fanbase and media lash out at Perth pitch

Ravichandran Ashwin and Sunil Gavaskar were among the high profile Indian cricket personalities to mention the outcry if 19 wickets fell on a single day in India

“Only 19 wickets fell at Perth today, but an excellent days cricket. Oh no! What if the same happens tomorrow in Guwahati?, Ashwin wrote on X (formerly Twitter).

Gavaskar was more scathing, expressing concerns in his Mid-Day column. “The Perth Test match has ended in less than two days with 32 wickets having fallen, including 19 on the first day,” Gavaskar wrote.

“But as yet there’s not a word of criticism about the pitch there. Last year too, 17 wickets fell on Day One at Perth between India and Australia, and I can’t recall a critical word about the pitch, which had more grass on it than usual.”

However, like day two between Australia and India last year, the surface settled down and became a good one for batting. The majority of dismissals were down to poor batting rather than the pitch playing all sorts of tricks. The bounce was consistent, with the batters not adjusting quickly enough to the conditions.

“This wicket, it kind of gets better I think at the end of day two, it’s probably at its best for the game late this evening … we saw similar last year as well,” said Steve Smith after the match.