SCG Test was the quickest in 137 years on batter-friendly pitch as ICC gets set to hand down verdict

In a match that last just 1141 balls, critics were unimpressed by an SCG pitch that offered too much to bowlers – and left batsmen’s bodies, and their records, bruised.

Next summer’s Sydney Ashes pitch is likely to be less grassy than the “stinker” SCG wicket employed for Australia’s eight-session shootout with India, with officials privately accepting that the balance between bat and ball was off-kilter.

However with curator Adam Lewis and his team optimistic about receiving a pass mark from the ICC, the prevailing view from behind the scenes is that it was better to err on the side of a pitch being too lively than dead.

Lewis’ pre-match prediction that Australia would not be able to grind out a draw to retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy proved accurate, with the Test played at warp speed to finish just after drinks in the middle session of day three.

The match lasted 1141 balls, the fewest in a Sydney Test that had a winner since 1888.

Lewis left 7mm of grass on the SCG pitch, resulting in a noticeably green and bouncy track which left several batters in the wars, in particularly Indian wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant on day one.

Heartbreak for Steve Smith at the SCG

The ICC’s pitch ratings system was amended in late 2023, reducing the gradings from six to four: Very good, satisfactory, unsatisfactory and unfit.

Venues run the risk of being stripped of the rights to host international cricket should they produce a run of substandard pitches or outfields.

“One demerit point will be awarded to venues whose pitches and outfields are rated by the match referee as unsatisfactory, while three demerit points will be awarded to venues whose pitches and outfields are marked as unfit,” according to the ICC.

“Demerit points will remain active for a rolling five-year period. When a venue accumulates six demerit points (or crosses that threshold), it will be suspended from hosting any international cricket for 12 months, while a venue will be suspended from staging any international cricket for 24 months when it reaches the threshold of 12 demerit points.”

Rishabh Pant wore a stunning amount of blows to the body during his two innings. Picture: Getty

The ICC is yet to release its pitch ratings for any of the five Border-Gavaskar Trophy series Tests.

The SCG pitch has been oft-maligned over the past decade for being too flat. The pitch used for the drawn and rain-marred Sydney Test between Australia and South Africa two years ago was rated “average” by the ICC under the old classification system.

It’s understood that while SCG officials concede this year’s Test wicket probably leant too heavily in the favour of bowlers, they are determined not to produce dull pitches either. However preparation of the pitch is likely to be refined ahead of next year’s Test, with grass poised to be thinned out.

Usman Khawaja (R) described the SCG deck as a ‘stinker’. Picture: AFP

While outspoken Australian opener Usman Khawaja labelled the pitch “a stinker” on the ABC, Indian coach Gautam Gambhir praised the wicket despite his team’s six-wicket loss.

“There’s been some really nice wickets,’’ Gambhir said.

“I think it’s good for Test cricket. There was enough for the bowlers as well, there was enough for the batters.

“But that is what’s going to keep Test cricket alive. This was not the typical Sydney wicket what we normally are used to. Or what we’ve seen in the past as well. But then, this is how Test cricket needs to be played. Result orientated wickets.’’

Aussie skipper Pat Cummins agreed that it was better to stray towards a pitch doing too much than too little.

“It had a lot of bounce and obviously a lot of grass and seam movement. I probably prefer that to a flat, slow one that fizzled out to a draw. But it was definitely spicy. I think it’s the same for both teams,” Cummins said.

“I really like that the groundsman has been trying to put a lot of life into it. At times it’s probably doing a lot, but I think I’d much prefer Test cricket to be like that, rather than filled out to boring draws.’’

Since the new grading system was introduced, only two Test pitch have been deemed “unsatisfactory.” One was the Cape Town deck used for a South Africa-India match last year in which the Proteas were bowled out for 55 on day one and India won inside two days, while the other was the Dhaka wicket for a Bangladesh-New Zealand Test late last year.

Originally published as SCG Test was the quickest in 137 years on batter-friendly pitch as ICC gets set to hand down verdict