AUS vs SA: Steve Smith Delivers Scathing Remark On Gabba Pitch

The modern-day batting great Steve Smith has stated that the pitch produced for the first Test between Australia National Cricket Team and South Africa National Cricket Team at the Gabba in Brisbane was the “most difficult wicket” he has played on in Australia.

Australia defeated South Africa in the first Test by 6 wickets while chasing down a small 34-run target. The Gabba track provided a lot of support to the bowlers and 34 wickets fell in less than 145 overs as the match got finished inside two days.

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Australia Test vice-captain Steve Smith has said that he wants the pitch for the Boxing Day Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) to be a bit more batting-friendly.

“As a batter I’d like it to do a little bit less. I think it’s a fine balance just trying to get that even contest between bat and ball. It [the Gabba] was probably the most difficult wicket I’ve played on here in Australia,” he said as quoted by ESPNcricinfo.

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The Gabba surface also received a “below average” rating from the International Cricket Council (ICC) and the match referee Richie Richardson said that the pitch was “not an even contest between bat and ball.”

I think there were a few instances that the ball did some stuff that was just out of nowhere – Steve Smith on the Gabba pitch

Steve Smith further revealed that some deliveries took him by surprise during the Brisbane Test and batting was very difficult.

“I think there were a few instances that the ball did some stuff that was just out of nowhere,” Smith said. 

“Some balls were sitting in the wicket, making divots, some were zinging through and it was just incredibly hard to bat again. Whether it was unsafe or not, it’s not really my place to judge, but it certainly wasn’t easy to bat.”

Cricket Australia’s head of cricket operations Peter Roach has acknowledged the ICC’s assessment but said that Matt Page, the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) curator, would not be changing his preparations based on what took place in the first Test.

Meanwhile, Steve Smith looked slightly puzzled when he was informed about Cricket Australia (CA) not giving any message to the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) curator to produce a batting-friendly pitch.

“[Last year’s MCG Test] went three days, was a difficult weekend and this year we’ve again got two really good bowling attacks so we’ll sum up the conditions and try to play accordingly,” Smith said.

Also Read: AUS vs SA: Marnus Labuschagne Feels Gabba Pitch Was “Not Ideal” For Test Cricket

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