The Sheffield Shield fixture that wrapped up a day early has given Gabba head curator Dave Sandurski a bit of breathing space before the second Ashes Test, and he’s quietly pleased about that. “Gaining an extra day to get it close to that 10-day [preparation] period makes life just that little bit more comfortable,” he told AAP late on Monday.
Queensland’s seven-wicket win, sealed under lights on the third evening, offered a handy dress rehearsal for what Sandurski wants from the Test strip: pace and carry for the quicks, enough grass to keep the pink ball interested after dusk, and still something in it for anyone willing to knuckle down with the bat. The curator doesn’t pretend the Shield surface will be copied exactly, but the principles are the same. “We try and make our wickets pretty much the same for four- and five-day cricket. The aim is to provide a wicket where all players get a chance to perform their skills so hopefully all facets of the game come into the match.”
Hot, dry weather is forecast in Brisbane right through next week. Sandurski reckons that means extra vigilance with the hoses: “All indications are there is a bit of heat around. The wicket will dry out a lot quicker so you’ve got to make sure you keep enough moisture in it to last five days.”
The Shield contest certainly moved on at a clip. Matt Renshaw’s brisk 114 and Xavier Bartlett’s all-round haul of 72 with the bat and 4 for 35 with the ball led the way, yet both felt the pitch handed out pretty honest value. Bartlett noted that the critical passages came after tea, once the sun had ducked behind the grandstand and the lights had fully taken over. “Just on twilight the pink ball talks a little bit more and the game goes through massive ebbs and flows,” he said. “You see wickets falling in clumps. You’ve got to stay in it and make the most of that middle session.”
Renshaw agreed. “While batting it feels like you can get a ball with your name on it at some point, but I think it will be a pretty similar wicket to what we have normally had at the Gabba,” he observed, casting his mind back to the last pink-ball Test at the ground. “We saw the pink-ball Test a few years ago when West Indies were touring and it swung around at times and was also nice for batting.”
Sandurski knows recent debate about ultra-quick finishes – Perth went two days – will rumble on, yet he’s wary of pinning it all on pitches. “Years ago draws were acceptable but now they are not and people play more shots and can provide more chances,” he said, hinting that intent, not just surface, shortens matches.
If the strip behaves as the Shield track did, the opening day next Thursday could follow a familiar pattern: batsmen making hay under Queensland’s afternoon sun, seamers suddenly in the game once the shadows lengthen, and a result still possible without tipping the balance unfairly either way. Sounds simple enough on paper; the real test, as ever, will come once the first ball is bowled.
