“I asked the referees when KG [Rabada] got [Travis] Head down leg, I said ‘how long will it go on until it’s potentially unsafe?’ said Elgar. “And then [Anrich] Nortje was bowling those short ones that flew over our heads. I know the game is dead and buried, it was never to try to change or stop the game. That’s where the referee’s discretion comes into play, not us as players. I’m certainly not going to say it was safe or unsafe.”
Elgar added that he received no response from officials. “There were only a handful of runs left so I thought maybe they thought I was just trying to get the mickey,” he said. “But it’s not a bad reference point to get an answer in the future.”
Cummins’ view was that the field had not come close to being dangerous. “No way, it was fine,” he said. “Sideways movement, there was a bit of bouncing up and down but it was fine. There were no balls jumping off a length or anything like that.
“It was definitely tricky. Two days is probably not ideal… personally I don’t mind if the gardener occasionally makes a mistake on the greener side, [I’ve] played many tests where they erred on the flatter side. Think it was the same for both teams.”
In 2022 the totals were slightly less dramatic, although South Africa only got to 99 due to a last wicket stand of 30 between Khaya Zondo and Lungi Ngidi. As Australia chased 34 for victory, they lost four wickets to Kagiso Rabada and 15 of the runs came from wide bouncers sailing over the keeper.
“You have to ask yourself – is that a good advertisement for our format? Thirty-four wickets in two days – a rather one-sided affair, I would say,” said Elgar. “The nature of it, how it started playing with a seriously steep bounce with the old ball, you’re kind of hiding from nobody as a batting unit. I don’t think it was a very good test wicket, no.”
Pat Cummins’ opinion was that the pitch hadn’t gotten anywhere near dangerous: “There were no balls jumping a length or anything like that”•Getty Images
It’s not uncommon for Sheffield Shield fields to start out green at the Gabba – and they usually level out over the first few days – but the worrying element during the second day was the signs of uneven bounce creeping in like sod forming on opening day began to harden. Alex Carey and Temba Bavuma were both elbowed while Bavuma was then pounded by one that stayed low from Nathan Lyon.
“It was interesting to see how quickly this one actually started spitting and how quickly the ball accelerated, especially the new ball,” Elgar said. “And also today the older ball flew through, which really shouldn’t happen. The divots played a pretty big part with the lateral movement and up and down and that steep bounce, which is quite a bit to deal with.”
The view from some Australian players and others who had seen a lot of cricket on this pitch was that, although it had the same 5mm grass as last year’s Ashes, it was the hardest they had come across.
“I’ve never seen one so green,” Ricky Ponting continued Channel 7. “Matthew Hayden played here more than me, and he’s never seen one green and Justin Langer said he hasn’t seen one green. We saw Nathan Lyon in the first innings of this game with a pretty outrageous up- bounce. It stayed there for a fraction. Those are some of these sods. If these balls land on the front part of the sod, the part closer to the bowler, they stay down. If they land on the end of the sod, that’s those who will go up.”
The ICC’s field monitoring process rates a surface in one of six categories, though the lowest – unsuitable – is only for extreme occasions. The ‘below average’ and ‘poor’ ratings both result in one and three penalty points respectively and if a ground earns five points over a five-year period it can be suspended from hosting international cricket.
Below average, the ICC’s criteria state: “Either very little wearing and/or bounce and/or more than occasional seam movement, or occasional variable (but not excessive or dangerous) bounce and/or occasional carrying a variable.”
The pitch offers excessive seam movement at every stage of the game
The pitch shows excessive unevenness for every bowler at every stage of the match
The pitch provides excessive assistance to bowlers, especially early in the match
The pitch shows little or no seam movement or twist at any stage of the match, and there is no significant bounce or carry, denying the bowlers a fair battle between bat and ball
The pitch shows excessive moisture making the playing characteristics unpredictable, or excessively dry causing the surface to deteriorate.
Andrew McGlashan is deputy editor at ESPNcricinfo