Are Test pitches changing in character?

S. Dinakar

Chennai: Are the pitches for Test cricket becoming increasingly batsmen-friendly?

Andy Atkinson, International Cricket Council’s consultant on pitches, has been critical of pitch preparation for Test cricket. The making of pitches for the five-day game seems to be a “dying art,” he anguishes.

Are the bowlers being marginalised further in a game already loaded in favour of the batsmen?

Mountain of runs

The five-Test series between England and the West Indies in the Caribbean produced a mountain of runs after the host romped home in the first Test at the Sabina Park.

In Bridgetown — once a paradise for fast bowlers — England declared at 600 for six and the West Indies replied with 749 for nine!

The first Test between Pakistan and Sri Lanka in Karachi witnessed totals of 644 for seven declared by Sri Lanka and 765 for six by the home team.

In the India–New Zealand Test at Napier, the Kiwis posted a mammoth 619 for nine declared and India, bowled out for 305 and following on, batted over two days to save the Test on a pitch which refused to deteriorate.

Atkinson’s words open a host of issues. Is there pressure from the broadcasters on the curators to prepare pitches that would last all five days; a Test ending in three or four days would lead to a huge loss of advertisement revenue for the telecasters.

Is Test cricket being driven by commercial interests?

Or has the quality of bowling, especially in the department of spin, declined to the extent that the bowlers are unable to gain purchase out of wearing surfaces?

In the 15 Tests of 2009, only seven have witnessed a team winning.

But then, the figures over the last three years have been rather impressive. As many as 34 out of 46 Tests produced a outright wins (73.91 per cent). In 2007, it was 22 out of 31 (70.97) and 36 in 47 matches in 2008 (76.60).

These numbers compare favourably with the 1980s (143 out of 266 Tests at 53.76 per cent) and the 1990s (233 out of 347 matches at 64.27). There have been a lot more result-bearing Tests in eight years of the decade 2000 - 331 out of 438 matches at 75.57.

An aberration?

So has 2009, so far, just been an aberration?

Statistics, though, may not tell the complete story. There is no denying that the pitches around the world, including the traditionally quick wickets such as the one at Perth, have slowed down. But then, the increased pace of run-getting and the time it creates for the events to unfold, and greater risk-taking by the batsmen have enhanced chances of a side winning.

And Bangladesh and Zimbabwe, in the later stages, were no more than punching bags. The nature of the surface did not matter.

Daljit Singh — he heads the BCCI panel that oversees the preparation of pitches in the country — disagrees with Atkinson. “You need to look at facts. You cannot generalise. (Atkinson) seems to be flying off the handle,” fumes Daljit.

Home advantage

He vehemently denies any interference from the broadcasters. “They dare not come close to us,” he says. Daljit, however, admits to a degree of interaction with the team management of the home team. “The concept of home advantage is an accepted part of the game. But it should not be blatant. We should, for instance, not prepare a square turner where the match concludes in three days.”

There are instances when tactics dictates the course of the series, he argues. “If you look at the England–West Indies series, the home team took the lead in the first Test and then played for a draw in the rest of the matches. The pitches were placid but this was a part of the strategy.”

What is an ideal Test wicket? There is some grass and moisture on the surface on day one; the pacemen achieve movement off the track and extract bounce. The moisture gradually disappears on day two and three and the ball comes on to the bat. On day four (after lunch) and five, the top becomes powdery and the spinners enter the scenario. Such a wicket would have good and consistent bounce for most part.

Leaving grass on the surface is an important element of pitch preparation. “If the grass in green, it holds moisture. The ball seams more because it tends to grip the moisture on the grass. But then, dry or brown grass does not assist seam movement,” reveals Daljit.

He is a well meaning man but the Indian strategy at home often demands the removal of grass. We return to the concept of home advantage.

All things considered, batting has arguably become less demanding in Tests. With so many matches of all formats packed in a season, the fast bowlers rarely go full throttle. The spin giants have decreased in number and the pitches have turned easier even if many of them cannot be termed `flat.’

Perhaps, India’s recent campaign in New Zealand is a case in point. When India toured New Zealand in 2002-03, the batsmen encountered green, seamer-friendly tracks. This time around, the pitches were largely ideal for batting.