Magazine - Greentop 'Shows the Way'

By Editor in Cricket on 7th Jan 2010 6:00

Cricket Australia chief executive James Sutherland yesterday strongly endorsed the lively pitch the SCG has provided for the second Test.

He wants other venues around the country and around the world to follow suit. Sutherland claims flat pitches have created too much "boring" cricket across the globe and wants administrative support for groundsmen who have the "courage" to produce more bowler-friendly wickets.

Praising Ricky Ponting for his outspoken campaign to enliven slow, low pitches, Sutherland insisted CA did not encourage flat pitches to ensure longer Tests for television rights holders or corporate sponsors.

He supported Ponting's decision to bat after winning the toss on Sunday, claiming the green seamer curator Tom Parker produced was not responsible for Australia's dismal first innings score of 127. Instead its batsmen, brought up on a diet of dry, flat tracks, failed to cope with the conditions.

However, he disputed Steve Waugh's claim the spendthrift strokeplay was due to a surfeit of Twenty20 and one-day matches. "My view is that over the last couple of years we've tended to have pitches around the country that have been a little bit benign and weighted in favour of the batsmen," Sutherland said. "As administrators and venue managers, we all have a responsibility to give curators a little bit more courage to prepare wickets that have a little bit more balance for the contest between bat and ball early, then see how things evolve from there. "This pitch to me seems a superb pitch for Test cricket."

Sutherland said he "admired" Ponting for his comments on Test pitches given he was a No 3 batsman who often had to battle the worst of the conditions. "They're pretty genuine comments encouraging curators to leave a little bit more in the wicket. It says a lot about Ricky Ponting," he said.

Sutherland claimed there was "nothing" in suggestions administrators were to blame for flatter pitches. "Very few people turn up on day five anyway, so the marginal revenue that turns up on day five is pretty well irrelevant."

During a guest appearance at CA's official lunch on the second day, Waugh claimed Australia's batsmen had lost the art of leaving the ball. "I thought it was quite prophetic. It was such a simple thing," Sutherland said.

At a time when CA is openly promoting an expansion of its domestic Twenty20 competition, Sutherland played down Waugh's claims the short forms of the game were harming the development of Test batsmen.

Sutherland believes that too many pitches in Australia and elsewhere are weighted too heavily in favour of batsmen. "I think around the world in the last couple of years, there's been a lot of boring Test cricket played and it's not necessarily a reflection on the players," he said.

Source & More: www.theaustralian.com.au

Read more articles in Cricket, by Editor or from January 2010.