Coming off dusty surfaces at home, and having opted to shelve their only practice match before the first Test, India are set for a tough initiation in Australian conditions on an Optus Stadium pitch expected to resemble the famous fiery characteristics of the nearby WACA ground.The drop-in pitch for the series-opener Test starting on November 22 was moved into the Optus Stadium’s playing surface last month having been curated since September. It contains the same local clay and grass species as the surfaces at the WACA, where pitches have been relatively spicy to start the Sheffield Shield season.This match will be just the fifth Test to be played at the 60,000-capacity Burswood stadium, which has yet to reel in fans in large numbers and captivate the West Australian public. But hosting the opener of the much-anticipated Border-Gavaskar Trophy is hoped to spark Test cricket in Perth aided by a fast and bouncy wicket mimicking the much-loved WACA situated on the opposite bank of the Swan River.Related
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“This is Australia, this is Perth… I’m setting ourselves up for really good pace, really good bounce and really good carry,” WA Cricket head curator Isaac McDonald told ESPNcricinfo. “In a perfect world, I want to emulate last year.”McDonald and his ground staff faced considerable pressure ahead of last year’s Test between Australia and Pakistan after a sedate pitch the previous summer resulted in a dreary contest that a struggling West Indies were able to drag deep into the fifth day.Another dull match appeared to be ensuing when David Warner smashed an opening-day century against Pakistan, but the pitch deteriorated as the match wore on, with rearing deliveries contrasted by balls that crept low on big cracks.Pakistan wilted in their second innings late on day four to be bowled out for 89 in 30.2 overs. Australia batter Marnus Labuschagne, Steven Smith and Usman Khawaja copped blows in that Test, and Labuschagne said after the match that it was one of the toughest pitches he had batted on.Ten millimetres of grass was left on the pitch on that occasion. “It’s [10 mm] a good starting point,” McDonald said. “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.“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.”Marnus Labuschagne was hit on his right glove by Khurram Shahzad in the last Test here•Getty Images
The spring weather in Perth has been considerably cooler than last year and this match will be played almost a month earlier than the Pakistan Test, where the opening couple of days were played in oppressive heat.The Test pitch will be a different strip compared to the one used during the recent ODI where Pakistan’s four-pronged attack tore through a weakened Australia on a surface that had considerable pace and bounce but was not a minefield.“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,” McDonald said.“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.”This will only be McDonald’s third Test in charge, but he is starting to grow more comfortable in the spotlight although it is about to shine considerably brighter than he has experienced before. His role does attract considerable attention given the lore over the WACA’s surfaces during its heyday of the 1980s and 1990s. Ground staff in Perth through the years have been at the receiving end of considerable backlash when conditions are benign.“I think for so long with these drop-ins, all over the country, people struggled to get them to do something,” McDonald said. “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.“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.”