Curator: Gabba deck will be fast and bouncy

Australia

The 'Gabba deck will be your usual feast of pace and bounce for the first Test between Australia and New Zealand, according to Brisbane curator Kevin Mitchell.

The track at the venue is traditionally made for pacemen, especially early in the match and with the new ball, and Mitchell says this will be the case again, even if hot weather plays a part.

Mitchell told AAP: "There will be healthy bounce and that's what we're striving for; as much bounce and pace as we can get out of it.

"There will certainly be some life in it early and then I think it will just continue. There will be something there for the bowlers with the new ball for the rest of the match.

"Those really hot days last year buggered up the bowlers but the wicket was fairly typical. This will be very similar to that one."

As for the grassy deck seen on Tuesday, he added: "We'll cut that down a bit. We're just sort of watching the weather a little bit at the moment.

"We'll cut it when we think there's not going to be too much cloud cover. Then it'll start to dry up and harden up pretty quickly."

This led Mitchell to say of the spinners' chances later in the match: "I imagine they'll come into it, especially if we get some warm days.

"That's the idea – a pitch where everyone gets a chance to show their wares."

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