The International Cricket Council (ICC) on January 8 released the ratings for all five pitches used in Australia during Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25. The pitches used at Perth Stadium, Adelaide Oval, The Gabba and Melbourne Cricket Ground have been rated as "very good". The spiciest of the pitches used at Sydney Cricket Ground that heavily favoured pacers and led to the fifth Test getting wrapped up within eight sessions has been rated "satisfactory".
It is to be noted that "satisfactory" is the second-highest rating a pitch can get from ICC as per their revamped system which came into effect in 2023. The other two ratings are unsatisfactory and unfit.
Cricket Australia's Head of Cricket Operations and Scheduling, Peter Roach lauded the curators for producing qualify pitches. He claimed that the pitches were not prepared to favour the home side but were result-oriended in addition to providing a good balance between bat and ball.
“We are delighted by the quality of pitches produced for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series and grateful for all the hard work of the curators and venues across the country," he said.
“We encourage pitches that bring out the unique characteristics of that venue and this has long been a feature of Australian cricket. We strongly believe that this is one of the reasons that Test cricket is so popular in Australia.
“We don't look to prepare wickets that favour the home side or suit our situation in a series. What we seek is a good contest between bat and ball and pitches that are likely to produce a result."
Gavaskar's verdict on Sydney pitch
Earlier, legendary Indian cricketer Sunil Gavaskar had slammed SCG pitch as it had much grass on it to assist the pacers.
“When I saw the pitch I did say the cows could have gone and grazed on it,” Sunil Gavaskar said on ABC Sport.
“This is not the ideal Test match pitch that you want because you want it to go into a fourth or the fifth day. Unless there is rain I don’t see us being here on day four.”
Gavaskar went on to say that the pitch left even the likes of Glenn McGrath surprised.
“All hell would have broken loose. There would have been all kinds of innuendos, all sorts of comments about ‘Is this a good pitch?'” he said.
“Even former players who played on this pitch before were so surprised. We had Glenn McGrath saying he’d never seen that much grass on the pitch.
“The point is, when you go overseas you have to be prepared to play on the surface.”
Clarke rated it as 'worst pitch in Sydney'
Not just Gavaskar, former Australia captain Michael Clarke termed it as the "worst pitch" he has seen at the venue.
"The SCG is my favourite ground in the world, it is my home ground, and I hate saying this out loud, but that's the worst pitch I've ever seen in Sydney," he told ESPN's Around The Wicket. "I didn't think it was a good cricket wicket, balls not just going up off the surface but shooting low at the end of day two."
Australia won the Sydney Test by six wickets as India lacked the services of their star pacer Jasprit Bumrah in the fourth innings due to back spasm. Australia regained the Border-Gavaskar Trophy after a decade.