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Former Australia skipper Michael Clarke criticized the surface used for the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) fifth Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG). Michael Clarke said the SCG is his favorite ground in the world, but added it was the worst pitch he had ever seen in Sydney.
The pitch at the Sydney Cricket Ground for the recent Test was tailor-made, where Australia defeated India by six wickets in just three days. The pitch, with a turf cover, was rated ‘satisfactory’ by the International Cricket Council (ICC). Neither team scored more than 200 runs in the four innings.
The SCG is my favorite ground in the world – Michael Clarke
Speaking on ESPN’s Around The Wicket, Clarke expressed his disappointment with the pitch at the Sydney Cricket Ground. Clarke described the pitch as the worst he had ever seen in Sydney and criticized it for not being a good cricket wicket.
“The SCG is my favorite ground in the world. It’s my home ground, and I hate to say it out loud, but this is the worst ground I’ve ever seen in Sydney. I didn’t think it was a good cricket ground. ” Clarke said on ESPN’s Around The Wicket.
I didn’t think it was a good cricket wicket – Michael Clarke
Michael Clarke stated that the pitch had problems, including the uneven bounce of the ball during the match. Clarke said that while he was not complaining, he noted that if a similar over-spin wicket had been produced in India, the Australian fans would have criticized it heavily.
“You know, the balls are not just coming off the surface, but they were shooting low at the end of the second day. I didn’t think it was a good cricket wicket, and of course Australia win, so I’m not complaining. But if we were to go to india and play and produce a wicket like that in terms of a furious turner and the game was over in two and a half days, i think all australian cricket fans would be stinking so, I think we just have to be a little careful now as well in and around that,” Clarke said.
All summer it was very hard to bat, but Sydney was extreme – Michael Clarke
Michael Clarke acknowledged that different countries produce pitches suited to their conditions, but stressed that the wickets throughout the summer were challenging for batting and ideal for fast bowling, especially with the new ball.
“We go to different countries and they produce favorable conditions for them. I think we have to bite our tongues because these wickets in general all summer were very tough for batting and they were excellent for fast bowling, especially against the brand new ball, but Sydney was extreme, I didn’t think it was a good test,” Clarke concluded.
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