The International Cricket Council (ICC) has released its pitch ratings for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, with Perth Stadium, Adelaide Oval, Gabba and MCG grounds all receiving the highest rating of ‘very good’ and the SCG given the second highest category “satisfactory.” “.
The hearings come as the Kangaroos last week claimed a 3-1 win in the five-match series to reclaim the Border-Gavaskar Trophy for the first time in a decade.
Losing the first match in Perth, the hosts came back strongly to win the second, fourth and fifth Tests, while the third match was a draw.
With this series victory, Australia also qualified for the World Test Championship final against South Africa at Lord’s in June.
The pitch rating system, revamped in 2023 to reduce the number of ratings from six to four – very good, satisfactory, unsatisfactory and unsuitable – provides for demerit points for venues if they receive unsatisfactory or unsuitable ratings.
“We are delighted with the quality of the pitches produced for the NRMA Insurance Border-Gavaskar Trophy series and grateful for all the hard work from curators and venues across the country,” said Peter Roach, Head of Cricket Operations and Marketing. turnover planning.
“We encourage pitches that bring out the unique characteristics of this venue and this has long been a hallmark of Australian cricket. We firmly believe this is one of the reasons why Test cricket is so popular in Australia.
“We are not looking to prepare wickets that favor the home team or suit our situation in a series. What we are looking for is a good matchup between bat and ball and pitches that are likely to produce a result .
“Weather obviously plays an important role in preparation and we know that even our most capable curators sometimes face adverse weather conditions,” he added.
Noting that the SCG has strived to bring out its unique characteristics of pace and bounce before the pitch wears out and spins, Roach remarked that this year was a step in the right direction to achieve this, this which provided an exciting end to the Border Gavaskar Trophy. series and bodes well for the Ashes summer in 2025-26.
“The series has also highlighted the benefits of playing first-class cricket at major venues. It allows our curators to become more familiar with the different challenges of preparing for wickets in different weather conditions, and also allows players to “Coming into the test team familiar with the conditions they will face,” he concluded.
