Australia inspect Optus Stadium pitch ahead of Perth Test against England
Australia’s Test stars got their first look at the Optus Stadium surface ahead of Friday’s Ashes opener in Perth.
On Monday morning, captain Steve Smith and wicketkeeper Alex Carey were seen inspecting the pitch that troubled the hosts last summer, when India claimed a thumping victory in the first Test of the Border-Gavaskar series.
Steve Smith and Alex Carey look out onto the Optus Stadium pitch, four days after the first Ashes Test.
Four days after the first ball, the wicket has a noticeable green tint and a decent grass cover. However, temperatures in Perth are expected to reach 33 degrees on Monday and 31 degrees on Tuesday, while the field is expected to dry out by the end of the week.
Former Test captain Greg Chappell wrote in his column for this imprint last week that Australia needed to prepare for a Perth surface “with a reputation built on sheer pace and bounce”.
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“The lane here is pure energy, with the ball flying at a speed unmatched anywhere else,” Chappell wrote.
Optus Stadium curator Isaac McDonald told Western Australia He expected “pace and bounce” on the field last week.
“There’s something for the quick batsmen, there’s something for the batsmen. Good batsmen have got good runs and in the last few Tests here the quicks have been in the game,” McDonald told The Western Australia.
“[We’re] “We’re aiming for a really good balance between strike and ball, but the speed and bounce needs to be there as well and we’ll see what happens on the first day.”
