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How to prepare yourself for bouncy wicket ?

Teja.

Global Moderator
I want Old Perth Wicket back, I want 3 people hit per Innings, I want blood, I don't want centuries, I want bloody test cricket. :happy:

The NZ series was friggin' awesome.
 

Debris

International 12th Man
What really happened to old Perth pitch? I remember it being called during it's and West Indies' glory days. But of late it's just another flat track with reasonable bounce. Was it deliberately made mellow or weather factors made it so?
It certainly was not deliberate. The WACA loved the reputation of having the fastest pitch in the world and are doing everything possible to restore it to that state.
 

honestbharani

Whatever it takes!!!
Attend academy. Crank bowling machine to 90 mph. Tip machine down so facing half way down pitch. Put helmet on. Pray.

Repeat until proficient.

In the fair dinkum stakes though, throw downs aren't bad. Have seen the Test guys work on their short-ball techniques this way. And it can be worked on - Hayden had problems with it early, but went away and just worked his arse off on the problem. Came back a fine player of the short ball.

Did enjoy the look on Raina's face the other night after he top edged the first one for four. All due respect to the kid, he did not want to be there.

But these guys are talented players. If they work on it they can overcome the problems they have with it. Part of that would be to get over the macho idea that you have to take the short stuff on all the time. You'd don't, as Steve Waugh demonstrated.

Still, confess I'm hoping the WACA is back to its glory days when India next tours.
What you say makes sense and to be completely honest, quite a few of this outfit CAN, IMO, take the short stuff in test cricket and ODIs, to an extent, where they can duck or weave away and leave the balls alone.


It is pretty different in T20s though where the nature of the game dictates that you need to attack the ball, no matter where it is pitched... I am in fact pretty amazed that the same tactic is not tried against other teams. If you got guys who can bowl short and quick, then have them do it in T20s, AFAIC... It is difficult to get the pull and hook right every time, esp. with 5 men on the onside and 2 deep behind square and the risk of playing these shots for a single means it is always a worthwhile tactic.
 

Burgey

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What you say makes sense and to be completely honest, quite a few of this outfit CAN, IMO, take the short stuff in test cricket and ODIs, to an extent, where they can duck or weave away and leave the balls alone.


It is pretty different in T20s though where the nature of the game dictates that you need to attack the ball, no matter where it is pitched... I am in fact pretty amazed that the same tactic is not tried against other teams. If you got guys who can bowl short and quick, then have them do it in T20s, AFAIC... It is difficult to get the pull and hook right every time, esp. with 5 men on the onside and 2 deep behind square and the risk of playing these shots for a single means it is always a worthwhile tactic.
Yeah. It's a risk/ reward strategy for sure, but in this day and age where blokes bomb knee high balls over long off for six, it's worth a shot for sure.
 

Top_Cat

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In fairness to the Indians (and everyone else, really), OZ are the only team with two all-out speed merchants. Their play against the short stuff might not have been awesome but literally everyone has struggled against Nannes/Tait. As long as they're on top of their games, it'll be tough. OZ's worries will start if both of them have an off-day on the same day, though, and the problem is that they might both do so in, say, the final. Without a good first 6 from them, the rest of the Aussie attack looks a whole lot worse.
 
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Burgey

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In fairness to the Indians (and everyone else, really), OZ are the only team with two all-out speed merchants. Their play against the short stuff might not have been awesome but literally everyone has struggled against Nannes/Tait. As long as they're on top of their games, it'll be tough. OZ's worries will start if both of them have an off-day on the same day, though, and the problem is that they might both do so in, say, the final. Without a good first 6 from them, the rest of the Aussie attack looks a whole lot worse.
This.
 

Jono

Virat Kohli (c)
Yeah some good posts here.

Will state though that the pitch is obviously relevant. There are times during the IPL when Nannes was unplayable. Other times he struggled when either he was having an off day, or the pitch was too damn flat or slow.

Barbados has been perfect, and Nannes and Tait have bowled well in conditions that suited. That = trouble, particularly when teams are batting 2nd and have the pressure to chase down a total.
 

Sir Alex

Banned
Thanks Burgey, Top Cat and Debris.

I remember reading somewhere it being referred to as an Away pitch for Australia, (or was it home pitch for Windies?) during the 80s and early 90s.
 

Top_Cat

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Yeh and that's even with a side stacked with Perth natives generally. Gah, does my head in thinking about some of the panic selections of the time.
 

Bracken

U19 Debutant
It certainly was not deliberate. The WACA loved the reputation of having the fastest pitch in the world and are doing everything possible to restore it to that state.
In all probability, flattening out the pitch was a deliberate move.

It was never publicly announced or anything, but the whispers going around the WACA members (which, back in the 1980s and 90s was a pretty reliable bush telegraph) it was a directive from the WACA board to the groundsmen, as an attempt to head off a push by the TV people to move at least some of the Perth tests to Bellerive.

The broadcasters made little secret of their hatred for the timezone issues of holding international cricket in Perth, and they were pushing to get Bellerive into the regular rotation. Keep in mind that this was when the norm was to hold just five tests per summer, so adding matches to Bellerive meant that someone would lose out. That someone was going to be Perth- at the very least in alternating years.

At one stage, it was even suggested that the commentators were under strict instructions to talk up Bellerive as a venue as much as possible. I have no idea if this is true or not, but at the time Richie and the boys did seem to fawn over Bellerive quite a bit.

As a part of this campaign, the broadcasters started making noises about the number of Perth tests finishing in three or four day, and the hit that they were taking in ad revenue. This started to gain a bit of traction within the ACB, and the WACA completely freaked out at the thought of losing their tests.

The WACA honchos, being lovably simple folk, looked across the Nullabor at Burdett's Adelaide and told the WACA groundsmen to get to work.

Now that they messed up the best and most marketable thing about the WACA, and now they're moving heaven and earth (lots of earth, from just south of Collie) to get it back.
 

Top_Cat

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Finding it astonishing the broadcasters would be arcing up about Perth as a venue. Sure the timezones suck for Tests but as far as TV audiences for ODI's go, surely WACA under lights kills to death any viewership for sunny Bellerive during the day?
 

Bracken

U19 Debutant
Yeah, I would have thought so. I would imagine that it would have to do with the fact that EST matches would cause less interference to the 6pm-7pm News/ACA block.

Or maybe big Kerry stubbed his toe walking down St Georges Terrace, and decided that all of Perth would pay dearly for such disrespect.
 

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