Ashes 2023: "It Should Be Left To The Curator" - Ian Chappell Lashes Out At Ben Stokes For Wanting Flat Tracks

Former Australian captain Ian Chappell believes that England’s decision to prepare flat tracks may backfire against them in the upcoming Ashes series. Ian Chappell said that curators shouldn’t be forced to prepare the pitch, which favours the home side.

England will host the much-anticipated Ashes 2023 series in June and July this year. The first Test will be played at Edgbaston in Birmingham starting on Friday, June 16. The pitch looks brown from the images that were circulated across the social media platforms.

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Ian Chappell said that the captain shouldn’t be involved in pitch preparation, noting Ben Stokes’ statement about wanting flat tracks in the tournament.

“The first question I’d ask is why is a captain, or anybody for that matter, other than the curator – or head groundsman as they call them in England – why is it up to anybody else to decide what sort of pitch you’re using? It should be left to the curator,” said Chappell on Wide World of Sports’ Outside The Rope.

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“And I know for a fact that when I was the captain if I had gone to any curator in Australia and said ‘I want this sort of pitch’ I would have been told to bugger off and mind my own business, which is quite the correct answer.

“I don’t know why they want (flat pitches). Obviously, Stokes has got a reason for wanting that sort of pitch. We’ll find out if he’s right by the end of July.”

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We Want Fast, Flat Wickets – Ben Stokes

Earlier in April, England captain Ben Stokes said that he wanted “fast, flat” wickets to maximize their “Bazball” style of batting in the marquee event.

“We’ve been very clear, especially with the ground staff around England, about what type of wickets we want. And they’ve been very responsive to us which has been good,” Ben Stokes said.

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“We want fast, flat wickets. We want to go out there and score quickly. It brings their [Australia’s] guys in, if they’ve got fast wickets to bowl on then they’ll be happy with that as well,” he added.

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