ON THE WRONG TRACK

Virat Kohli reckons home teams should be able to prepare pitches to suit the home team:

"Why not [turning pitches]? We were given flattest of tracks during practice matches in England and Australia and then suddenly presented with a green-top during the Tests. During practice matches, we would face those 120kmph bowlers … If they [England and Australia] wanted to be fair to us, they could have provided us with same kind of tracks for practice matches, like what were used in Tests.

The sensible perspective says it is reasonable for a home team to prepare a favourable pitch so long as the pitch does not fall apart on day one or is a raging greentop which has both teams batting on day one and the match ending in two and a half days.

My personal preference is that pitches are more challenging than they have been in recent years and the batsmen have to earn their runs.

The thing is, contrary to Kohli's opinion, Australia did not serve up green-tops against India. Australia is dreadful against the moving ball, but in the four Tests made 333 and 240, 4 for 659 declared, 369, and 7 for 604 declared and 5 for 167 declared.

India came with the worst bowling attack to tour Australia in several summers, and their batsmen wanted to go home before 2012 started.

The pitches had bugger all to do with it.

Stroll over to Different Strokes for a similar, well, misconception:

All countries have their own inconsistencies to be ashamed of so I’m not suggesting that Australia is alone in this regard. Far from it. Living in Australia, I just get to see a lot more of the local cricketing news so I’m better qualified to make comment on Australian examples. A few examples spring to mind….let’s think back to the times when we prepared turning tracks in the 1980s to beat the West Indies. A fair enough tactic too so long as there’s no complaints if other teams prepare pitches to suit their strengths.

I don't know precisely how much cricket Michael Jeh has watched in Australia, but when I think back to the 1980s I don't remember us preparing turners to beat the West Indies. I don't even remember us beating the Windies. Sure, we won the odd dead rubber in Sydney where the pitch was a traditional turner, but everywhere else the Windies smashed us on great tracks. In fact, it has always been a particular gripe of mine that we do not serve up home team tracks.

Comments

[Carrot]

I think we don't serve up home team tracks because we already do it by default. Even the slower tracks like Adelaide or Sydney are harder and bouncier than most other places. It's pretty hard to make every track a trampoline like the WACA (was?) when every other deck is the best part of a continent away, with its own climate and unique character anyway. No other country's set-up is really the same on that basis.

Also: when was the last time an Australian cricketer had a moan to the media and made excuses about previous series losses? Even thinking back to THAT series in 2005 when were we inclined we could have bitched about all manner of things - ball tampering and more than a few dodgy umpiring decisions spring to mind - we don't. The Injuns do it all the time and it's such a bad look. And honestly, they were shocking in both series, how he can honestly blame practice matches for it is beyond me.

[Tony Tea]

Doctor? No.

[The Don has Risen]

The pitches were greenish when we played anyone but the Windies.

The SCG was a disgrace