New Delhi, November 17 (IANS). Before the start of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Australian cricket team’s top batsman Steve Smith has given a big statement. He said that batting in Test matches on home ground is now more challenging.
Ahead of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series against India starting in Perth from November 22, Steve Smith admitted that batting on home ground is not easy. He cited the changing nature of the pitches.
The batting average in Tests has dropped from 37.0 to 28.8 after Australia were defeated 2-1 in the four-match Border-Gavaskar Trophy series in 2020/21. Moreover, the average balls per wicket in Australia till the 2020/21 series was 66.6 and after that it has also reduced to 52.
The average overs per Test in Australia before India’s memorable series win was 347.1, and has since dropped to 279.4.
Smith, speaking to the Sydney Morning Herald, gave his assessment, “The wickets were probably better then too, so there were fewer good balls to get you out. A lot of it was the batsmen’s fault and at the time I felt I was making too many mistakes. I think I said before the first Test, they won’t be able to get me out, and I guess I need to say that again and again and try to stick to it. “
He further added, “Between the early 2000s and 2018, the wickets were very good. In Australia they were more suited to the batsmen than the bowlers, and now it has reversed. Because of the grass on the wicket and the balls, the batsmen It’s definitely a very challenging situation for us.”
The solid right-handed batsman further said that if you play well, you can score runs. I am not saying it is impossible but I thought it was difficult for him to bowl a very good ball to get me out. Whereas now you feel like every time a ball comes along with your name written on it and you can’t do anything about it.
Veteran left-handed opener Usman Khawaja also said that the change in the nature of the pitches and the Kookaburra means bowlers do not need to put in as much effort to swing the red ball in Test and first-class domestic games.
–IANS
AMJ/AS
