By IANS,
Sydney : Australian coach Tim Nielsen is worried that lifeless pitches could be ruining Test cricket.
Australia last week drew the second Test against West Indies. It was Australia’s second draw in 21 Tests and they considered the pitch at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua to be too dead.
“If we are going to maintain the standard of Test cricket, we would love to have it, with big crowds. It’s hard to do on those sorts of wickets,” Nielsen was quoted as saying in Herald Sun.
“I don’t think it shows off anybody’s skills to have that sort of surface to play on. There were long periods of the game (in Antigua) where it was hard work for everybody.”
“The strike rate was pretty low, so I think you would like to see a bit more pace and bounce in the pitch to allow both sides to show off their skills,” he said.
Even in Australia, there have been growing fears for several years that Test pitches are losing their essence.
The pitch in Bridgetown, Barbados, for the third Test is expected to have more life.