Steven
Cricket

“The Gabba pitch was probably the most difficult wicket I’ve played on here in Australia,” says Steven Smith

Steve Smith has described the Gabba green-top as the most difficult surface he has played on in Australia, and he is hopeful that conditions at the MCG would be more conducive to batting.

South Africa were thrashed in Brisbane, where 34 wickets fell in two days to kick off the explosive series, making it the quickest Test on Australian soil in 91 years.

Australia need only 35 runs to win the first Test match after dismissing South Africa for 99 in their second innings. The hosts blundered and lost four wickets before taking a 1-0 series lead.

Smith desires greater assistance for hitters in the Boxing Day Test, despite Australia’s 1-0 lead after a six-wicket victory.

“As a batter I’d like it to do a little bit less. I think it’s a fine balance just trying to get that even contest between bat and ball. The Gabba was probably the most difficult wicket I’ve played on here in Australia,” Smith told reporters.

“I think there were a few instances that the ball did some stuff that was just out of nowhere. Some balls were sitting in the wicket, making divots, some were zinging through and it was just incredibly hard to bat again. Whether it was unsafe or not, it is not really my place to judge, but it certainly was not easy to bat,” he added.

In his post-match news conference, South Africa captain Dean Elgar described the surface as hazardous and questioned umpires during the final session if it was unsafe to continue play.

Peter Roach, the head of cricket operations for Cricket Australia (CA), acknowledged that the Gabba pitch favoured fast bowling excessively.

“We encourage all our curators to look at how we make the right balance over it going deep into the fourth day,” Roach said. “We say that not being disappointed when a match goes into the fifth day; late on the fourth day gives a chance for the game to go a bit further,” he stated.

Last year’s Boxing Day Test concluded before midday on the third day, when Scott Boland memorably decimated England’s batting lineup with 6-7 in his first game.

But it was just five years ago that the MCG was given a “bad” grade after a five-day draw in which only 24 wickets were taken. Roach stated that MCG curator Matt Page will not alter his preparations in response to the events at the Gabba.

 

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