The wild west is back with Optus Stadium ground staff promising a pitch with plenty of pace and bounce for the Frank Worrell Trophy opener in Perth.
Australia’s Test summer will begin in the midst of 35-degree heat in Western Australia on Wednesday, making for a tough first day for whoever bowls first.
But there will at least be some early assistance.
Curator Isaac McDonald said on Tuesday he expected pace and bounce from the opening day in line with what was experienced in the Twenty20 World Cup.
That could make for a throwback to the famous bouncy wickets of decades gone by at the WACA, where the same Waroona River soil is used.
(Paul Kane – CA/Cricket Australia via Getty Images/Getty Images)
“Recent pitches in the past have had the quick, fast, bouncy, characteristics. So we are trying to emulate in the long form,” McDonald said.
“We’re lucky in our clay is the highest clay content in the country.
“We are able to push the clay further in limits and squeeze more life out of it. It just sets like concrete if you get it right.
“The warmer weather aids with our cricket soil, getting that extra hardness on day one rather than waiting for day two.”
McDonald though is confident the pitch won’t crack up like it did four years ago against India, making it a nightmare to bat on.
That pitch and its sideway cracks brought back memories of the 1996-97 Test between Australia and West Indies, where Greg Blewett was bowled by a ball that stayed ankle high and Curtly Ambrose was run out when his bat became stuck in a crack.
Players fear similar conditions this year.
But McDonald is hopeful the 12mm of grass left on in the 37-degree heat the day before the match would counteract that, adding to a more mature pitch than four years ago.
“That heat was unprecedented and it was for a long period of time,” McDonald said of 2018-19.
“The nature of that pitch still being quite new, the grass sods weren’t fully developed at that stage and it’s not quite as strong as it could be.
“The testing we have done so far tells us we have good moisture below (this year) … I don’t think there will be too many big cracks open up.”
McDonald said the pitch was not expected to spin much, as West Indies weigh up whether to play a tweaker.
However, Australia captain Pat Cummins believes Nathan Lyon will still play a big role given his over-spin benefits from bounce.
“He’s huge … he can bowl 30 overs in the day if needed, in the heat,” Cummins said.
“He takes vital wickets and can hold up an end.”
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