Page’s WACA pace mission improbable
WACA curator Matt Page is a man on a mission. His task is to restore the pace and bounce of the famous Perth pitch to its former glory.
Page’s two chief foes on this crusade have been the weather and Cricket Australia’s scheduling.
After twenty years of opening the Test season at the Gabba, the WACA will now bring the curtain up on Australia’s summer which has drastically reduced the time Page has had to work with.
The Test between Australia and South Africa starts nine days earlier than last year’s first WACA contest.
To top that off Western Australia has had an unusually cold spring meaning the pitches have been unable to bake in the sun as they normally would.
Despite all this Page is confident of producing a livelier track than the highway presented for the Baggy Green clash with New Zealand last year.
Page said: “We’ve done things a little bit differently this year.
“We’ve left a little more green grass on it, we’ve also adjusted our water.
“Being November, we don’t usually get the high temperatures we need to bake that surface to try to give us every possibility to get something that will go through and give the bowlers a good crack at the batters.
“[The weather’s] not been great, but we’ve tinkered with our prep to try to get a harder surface than we would normally see here this time of year and just try to help it go through a bit quicker.”
The pitch selected for the Test will be from the block to the east of centre, the central pitch is less settled and therefore not suitable for a Test match.
Page went on: “The ones on this [east] side of the block seem to be a bit quicker, they’ve all got their own little characteristics, the 10 wickets out there, they all do little things.
“There are some that are a little bit quicker than others. This one is a normal Test-match wicket. We saw a couple of one-dayers here a couple of years ago with South Africa when it went through really well.
“Last year was not so good, so we’re hoping that it’s more towards that South African wicket of a couple of years ago. Hopefully it’ll [also] be something very similar to the last Shield game we had.
“There was a bit of bounce there, there was a bit of seam, something there for the bowlers, something there for the batters, there were three hundreds. That’s sort of what we’re looking for this time of year, being November.”
The groundsman is determined to restore the WACA’s reputation as the fastest pitch in Test cricket even as the all-new Perth stadium complex threatens to snuff out high profile cricket from the ground.
Page concluded: “It’s something we’re working towards and we’ve seen wickets here since the wicket that was reconstructed that have really gone through well.
“Our biggest issue is our consistency, they’re not consistently quick. That’s what we’re working towards to make sure it happens.
“There’s pressure with every wicket you produce at the WACA, there’s that reputation of the pace and the bounce and getting it back consistently to the way it was in the 1970s.
“That’s what we try to do with all our wickets, sometimes we get there, sometimes we don’t. I’m pretty confident we’ll have a wicket that will have a bit in it for both batters and bowlers.”
Latest
-
News
On this day in 2018: Australian trio banned after ball-tampering saga
The trio were handed their punishments on March 28, 2018.
-
County Cricket
Surrey stars eager to help Alec Stewart sign off with more silverware
Stewart has guided Surrey to three County Championship wins during his decade in charge.
-
Women's Cricket
Maia Bouchier smashes 91 as England Women seal T20 series victory
England made 177 for three and then restricted New Zealand to 130 for seven.
-
County Cricket
Yorkshire boosted by Harry Brook and Joe Root’s early-season availability
Both players are not at the Indian Premier League.
-
England
Ollie Pope ‘itching’ to get back scoring runs after ‘frustrating’ tour of India
The England vice-captain hit a superb 196 in Hyderabad, but averaged only 14.75 in the next four Tests of the India series.
-
Women's Cricket
Ellyse Perry says Ashes Test at MCG ‘amazing’ but unsure about four-day return
Australia will host England at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in the Women’s Ashes early next year.
-
County Cricket
Harry Brook set to return for start of Yorkshire’s County Championship campaign
Brook withdrew from England’s Test tour of India in January due to personal reasons.
-
England
England spinner Tom Hartley expects his exploits in India to be ‘life changing’
Hartley’s second-innings haul of seven for 62 in Hyderabad delivered one England’s greatest ever overseas victories.
-
Women's Cricket
Heather Knight urges more composure from England after New Zealand collapse
The tourists needed just 29 from 29 balls with eight wickets in hand.
-
Australia
On this day in 2018: Australia ‘sandpapergate’ ball-tampering controversy erupts
The incident led to Steve Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft being banned from playing for Australia.