Ashes: Adelaide Oval curator believes England without spinner is big ‘mistake’

The Adelaide Oval curator has issued a major warning to the English, who are hoping to reverse their fortunes in the second Ashes Test.

Adelaide Oval curator Damian Hough believes England would be making a mistake by not playing a specialist spinner in the second Ashes test. Picture: Chris Hyde / Getty Images

Adelaide Oval curator Damian Hough believes England not playing the second Ashes Test with a specialist spinner would be a mistake, largely because “history says that the pitch will spin”.

The South Australian venue will host the second pink-ball Test of the historic rivalry between Australia and England, as the visitors look to hit back after a nine-wicket defeat in the series opener.

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England played the first Test at the Gabba with one specialist spinner in the form of Jack Leach.

However, the 30-year-old was smacked from pillar to post by Australia, conceding an alarming 102 runs from the 13 overs he bowled and only snaring one wicket in the form of Marnus Labuschagne.

Despite the leaky performance, Hough maintains that dropping Leach in favour of a stronger hand with the bat or another all-rounder would not bode well for the visitors.

Asked if it would be a bad move, Hough responded: “Yeah, I think so.”

“History says that the pitch will spin.

“Nathan’s (Lyon) always played a role out there.

Adelaide Oval curator Damian Hough believes England would be making a big mistake if they didn’t choose a specialist spinner for the second Ashes Test. Picture: Supplied

“From our end, we believe that spin at Adelaide needs to play a part.

“We feel that it has previously, and it still should.”

Adelaide Oval has become synonymous as the premier venue in Australia for a pink-ball Test, playing host to six of the nine day-night matches played across the nation.

As to how the pitch will play out, that will be revealed when play commences for the second Test on Thursday.

But Hough believes the Adelaide Oval ground staff, having now had experience preparing the ideal wicket for day-night Tests, have “got the recipe” for the perfect piece of turf.

“We seek feedback all the time,” Hough said.

“We think the process we’re using to produce the best pitch possible … we think we’ve got the recipe.

“But the beauty with match preparation is that it changes all the time.

“They (the pitches) behave slightly different each year, but from our end, it’s about adjusting on the run and during preparation to get that end result.”