Steve Smith describes Gabba pitch most difficult to play on in Australia

• 34 South African wickets fell in two days, marking it the shortest Test on Australian soil in 91 years.
• Match referee Richie Richardson rated the Gabba pitch as “below average”.
• The MCG curator Matt Page will not alter his preparations for the Boxing Day Test in response, says Peter Roach.

Steve Smith has described the Gabba green-top as the most difficult surface he has encountered in Australia. He is expecting that circumstances at the MCG would be more favorable for batting.

In just two days, 34 South African wickets fell in Brisbane to open the blockbuster series, marking it the shortest Test on Australian soil in 91 years.

Richie Richardson, the match referee, rated the Gabba pitch as “below average” and stated that it was “not an even contest between bat and ball” according to the International Cricket Council (ICC).

Smith desires greater assistance for hitters in the Boxing Day Test, despite Australia’s 1-0 lead after a six-wicket victory.

“As a batter I’d like it to do a little bit less,” he said in Melbourne on Wednesday. “I think it’s a fine balance just trying to get that even contest between bat and ball. It [the Gabba] was probably the most difficult wicket I’ve played on here in Australia.”

In his post-match press conference, South Africa captain Dean Elgar described the surface as hazardous and asked umpires during the final session if it was unsafe to continue play. Smith said that there were times during the game when he was surprised.

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“I think there were a few instances that the ball did some stuff that was just out of nowhere,” Smith said. “Some balls were sitting in the wicket, making divots, some were zinging through and it was just incredibly hard to bat again. Whether it was unsafe or not, it’s not really my place to judge, but it certainly wasn’t easy to bat.”

Cricket Peter Roach, the head of cricket operations for Australia, has accepted the ICC’s conclusion that the Gabba pitch favors fast bowling too significantly.

“We encourage all our matches to look at how do we make the right balance over it going deep into the fourth day,” Roach told reporters. “We say that not being disappointed when a match goes into the fifth day; late on the fourth day gives a chance the game to go a bit further.”

Last year’s Boxing Day Test concluded before midday on the third day, as Scott Boland famously decimated England’s batting lineup with 6-7 in his first innings.

But it was just five years ago that the MCG was given a “bad” grade after a five-day draw in which only 24 wickets were taken.

Roach stated that MCG curator Matt Page will not alter his preparations in response to the events at the Gabba.

The look on Smith’s face when told there would be no message from CA to make the MCG more batsman-friendly says it all.

“[Last year’s MCG Test] went three days, was a difficult weekend and this year we’ve again got two really good bowling attacks so we’ll sum up the conditions and try to play accordingly,” Smith said.

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