This is Australia, this is Perth – WA Cricket Head curator issues stern message for India batters

As India gears up for the mega Border-Gavaskar Trophy, a lot is being already talked about in terms of the quality of the surface. It goes without saying that the pitches Down Under have always been pacy and bouncy and as per the word of the WA Cricket head curator of Perth, that might once again be the case for India.

Talking to ESPNCricinfo, Isaac McDonald said, “This is Australia, this is Perth... I'm setting ourselves up for really good pace, really good bounce and really good carry. In a perfect world, I want to emulate last year."

Shedding light on the presence of the grass on the surface, McDonald added, “Ten millimetres of grass was left on the pitch on that occasion. "It's [10 mm] a good starting point. Ten millimetres was pretty comfortable with the conditions that we had [last year] and that held the conditions together nicely for the first few days. Live grass on the pitch is speed.”

He also explained how the grass can affect the game, stating, “Both bowling units were pretty rapid last year and hoping for much the same this year. But, as we saw last year, good batters were able to take the game on and put away balls and score runs quickly."

Talking about the composition of the pitch, McDonald added, “Every wicket you make is conditions based. You've got to back yourself with the conditions and make educated guesses around your moisture content and how much rolling to do.”

He then shifted his focus to how the surface should evolve over the span of the five days, stating, “It's a juggling act but hopefully the match gets into day five or the last session of day four like last year. If we can get some nice cracks forming later in the game...the game takes care of itself."

McDonald also highlighted what drop-in pitches would usually do, underlining, “I think for so long with these drop-ins, all over the country, people struggled to get them to do something. There were so many draws early on and long days in the field. Our characteristics are so unique to Perth... where we can get the big cracks.”

He concluded by saying, “I've had a massive learning from the first Test match [against West Indies]. You can make so many first-class wickets, but [Tests] are so different. I wouldn't call it feeling the pressure, but it's nice to be important and have people talk about this pitch."