Perth Stadium curator Isaac McDonald has issued a rebuff to suggestions the pitch for the opening Test of the Ashes beginning on Friday would be cultivated to elevate the impact of champion spinner Nathan Lyon.
With Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood ruled out of the first Test with injury, Michael Vaughan pondered whether the Perth Stadium wicket would become more conducive to spin given Australia’s perceived advantage in the department.
But McDonald said the Perth Stadium pitch will have pace and bounce, as per its regular characteristics, rather than being low and slow when declaring he had never been directed to prepare a wicket a certain way.
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“There has been absolutely no directives from anyone ever, which has been the case through throughout cricket for a long time and, well forever. That just doesn’t happen,” McDonald said.
“Low and slow? I think it’s just not possible. The West Test is pace and bounce, and that’s what we’re going to stick to.”
But there is a caveat.
Australian fast bowler Mitchell Starc, who confessed he would prefer to start the series in Brisbane, said one could never truly judge how the Perth Stadium pitch would behave until play begins given his experiences at the ground.
“We’ve had five different wickets here, as I said,” he said.
“We have had a flat wicket, a pretty slow, flat wicket against the West Indies one year. The first Test here was one where it cracked up and played a bit like the WACA used to. Last year, obviously, we saw the wickets in the first day and then it got pretty flat.
“So you can look at trends and you can look at what’s happened, but in the end, you have got to play what’s in front of you and adapt to that.”
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McDonald said he had adjusted the timing of his preparation by a day this year, stating that in hindsight he was probably one day off with the wicket that saw 17 wickets fall on the first day last year before India batted superbly later in the Test.
But there have been challenges. Perth has endured a wetter spring than usual, while Metallica also held a concert at the ground recently. But he said the wicket area, which has been in for a month, emerged unscathed from that event.
“Look, this forecast has been hit and miss. The temperatures have been varying by a few degrees here and there every day,” he said.
“So taking lessons learned from last year, we started (our) prep a day earlier and we are still sticking with our guns with pace and bounce, and really trusting (ourselves) to get our moisture and firmness right to present a really good, competitive cricket wicket.
“You look historically at every Test through both venues here in the West (and) pace and bounce is a mainstay and that’s not going to change anytime soon.”
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