Australian batsman Marnus Labuschagne has admitted the pitch in the first Test in Brisbane was not fit for a Test match after South Africa’s two-day demolition in Brisbane.
Even Labuschagne, who had made more than 500 runs in two Tests against the West Indies, struggled at the Gabba where 34 wickets fell in two days of play as the Aussies cruised to victory in a green wicket almost the same color as the outer field.
South African skipper Dean Elgar asked the umpires if the pitch was safe during the match and continued the harsh criticism after the match.
While Australian captain Pat Cummins thought the wicket was “fine”, Labuschagne admitted it was “not ideal” for a Test match.
“I think everyone understands that this is not what we want, that it is not the ideal scenario,” he told SEN.
“We love the pace of the wicket, we love the bounce, we love two fast bowling attacks, but if we’re going to finish in less than two days, obviously it’s not ideal for Test cricket.
“But the reality is we’ve probably played in two of those in the last two years.”
Steve Smith, who made 36 in the first innings but only six in the second as Australia lost 4-24 before getting over the line, said it was “probably the toughest wicket I’ve seen in Australia” afterwards of the party
“It was like there were different areas of moisture on the gate, so some balls were taking divots and going slowly, others were hitting harder parts of the gate and going through,” he said Smith at cricket.com.au.
“So once those soft bits hit, some divots are created as well.
“You would have seen a lot of the balls that hit the divots and they either shot low or took off, so as a hitter it’s very difficult to play against.”
There have only been 21 Tests since 1877 that have produced an indoor result and Elgar was enthusiastic after the match about the state of the pitch after his side were bowled out for just 99 in their second innings.
“Thirty-four wickets in two days – quite a one-sided affair, I’d say,” he said.
“The way he started playing with some seriously pronounced bounce with the old ball, you’re not hiding anybody as a batting unit.
South Africa captain Dean Elgar leaves the field (Photo by Patrick HAMILTON / AFP) / Source: AFP
“If you think about it, only two or maybe three batsmen applied themselves half decently and scored runs.
“I don’t think it was a very good test port, no.”
Labuschagne, said the quality of the bowling attacks on both sides demanded a better wicket.
“It felt a bit like a Shield game,” he said.
“We’ve seen a few wickets like that (at the Gabba) but obviously you don’t have two sides with four- or five-man bowling attacks bowling at over 150 (km/h), that’s probably the difference.
“Test cricket is a battle of stamina. Can the batsman outlast the bowler? It’s a strategic game and obviously when you play on a wicket like that, it brings the game a lot closer.
“It becomes a bit of a lottery as to who takes a port like this.
“With such a good bowling attack, they sacrificed a bit in batting because they play all four quicks and a spinner. That worked to our advantage in this game because you probably didn’t need five bowlers on a wicket like that.”
Gabba commissioner David Sandurski was in no mood to defend his presentation when contacted by News Corp, admitting it was “not good enough”.
“The proof is in the pudding,” Sandurski told News Corp.
“The scorecards are there. You can’t deny it. Obviously, it’s not good enough for a game of this magnitude.
“I’m obviously disappointed. Nobody wants to play a two-day Test. All the signs in the build-up were that it was a reasonable wicket. Two very good bowling line-ups exposed every bit of that wicket they could.”