Cricket chiefs have implored the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) Trust not to abandon the ground’s natural wicket block and replace it with “unproven” drop-in pitches under pressure from the AFL. They believe such a move would run the risk of imposing “boring cricket” on spectators.
This comes at a time when the MCG is undergoing extensive work to updates its 20-year-old drop-in pitch system that has been subject to heavy criticism for the standards of recent Test match pitches in particular. However, more contemporary drop in surfaces at Adelaide Oval (installed in 2013) and Perth Stadium (2018) have raised fresh discussion about whether the SCG should change over.
Lee Germon, the NSW chief executive, stated that the SCG’s history of providing an array of different conditions, especially those aiding spin bowlers, would be at risk should the square be dug up and replaced. Such a move would also require extensive remodelling work to provide an access point for portable pitches.
“I would argue those advancements are yet to be proven,” Germon told ESPNcricinfo. “It’s a pretty fair assumption that they have improved with time, but in Adelaide we’ve seen largely day-night Test matches and the nature of the pitch change as a result of the drop-ins.
“It’s become more swing and seam friendly, [Perth] the jury’s still out on that. But irrespective of that, there is no substitute for a natural pitch and the natural deterioration that will occur with a natural wicket.
“Broadly looking at drop-in pitches, the deterioration has been more based around the fact that it suits swing bowling and seam bowling, not spin bowling, and drop-in pitches have certainly not been seen to deteriorate for that kind of bowling.”
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Apart from a brief statement, the SCG Trust declined to comment, not revealing the names of pitch committee members nor the timing of the AFL’s request and the committee’s formation. The league was understood to be angered by CA scheduling a pair of ODIs between Australia and New Zealand at the SCG in mid-March next year, a decision unveiled in May. The Trust is chaired by Tony Shepherd, also the chairman of the Greater Western Sydney AFL club.
“At the request of the AFL, the SCG has formed a committee to consider advances in drop-in wicket technology,” the Trust said in a statement. “The committee is made up of Trustees and independent experts and will consider the needs of all sports partners and other stakeholders.”
The committee has been formed at a time when the SCG surface is subject to unprecedented extra traffic due to the rebuilding of the Sydney Football Stadium next door. Germon argued that the discussion should not be happening at any time, let alone when the ground is under an unusual level of strain. The SCG’s ground manager, ex-Adelaide Oval groundsman Justin Groves, resigned earlier this year amid the fixturing glut.
“I don’t think this discussion should be taking place anyway, irrespective of the timing,” Germon said. “I think it’s exacerbated by the extra workload that’s on the SCG at the moment. Rectangular sports don’t want to play at the SCG – they’ve made that clear and in three years time they’re going to have a bright, shiny new stadium right next door that will be their home. The timing is not right, but from my perspective and cricket’s perspective the sanctity of the SCG is paramount and this discussion in my view is a moot discussion and the timing is never right.
“We’re certainly trying to get more effective use [of the SCG], we certainly play more cricket at the SCG than AFL, we certainly bring in ore crowds, we’re the major tenant at the SCG, we want to play as much cricket as we possibly can there. My argument would be that rather than provide a venue that can hold concerts, have a venue that can provide more cricket. That’s what the ground was made for, the quintessential nature of the SCG, and we just want more and more cricket there.”
Cricket NSW argues SCG’s unique characteristics in submission
The NSW submission to the SCG Trust stressed the ground’s history of offering distinctive conditions and also argued that Adelaide Oval’s move to a drop-in pitch had fundamentally changed the character of the surface and the cricket played on it.
“The SCG is the only ground in the country where spinners are the two leading wicket takers across the history of the venue – Shane Warne (64 wickets) and Stuart MacGill (53 wickets). Drop-in pitches simply do not deteriorate over the four days of a Sheffield Shield match or five days of a Test. In multiple venues, with some of the world’s finest curators in control, they continue to have a sameness about them which fail to express the unique characteristics that exist in Sydney with the natural pitch.
“One of the main reasons for this uniformity is that the technology used for drop in wickets is largely unproven. There are only four venues in world cricket that use drop ins for long-form cricket, each with varying degrees of success. We’ve seen the impact of getting it wrong in Melbourne over the past two years, where the Boxing Day Test match has been overshadowed by the MCG becoming the only Test pitch in Australia to receive a poor rating from the ICC in recent years, in addition to both MCG and Optus (drop in venues) receiving average ratings last season.
“The top seven wicket takers in Sheffield Shield history at the Adelaide Oval are all spinners [If you count George Giffen from the 19th century, who was a medium pace off-spinner]. However, four of the top five wicket takers since the drop-in pitch six years ago are seam and swing bowlers. Deterioration is key to a spinning pitch, therefore there is a real risk that moving to drop ins will nullify the unique characteristic that the SCG is famous for, and risk it becoming just like any other ground around Australia.”
CA has been contacted for comment.