It's too easy and boring, says Ponting

Hurrah for Ricky Ponting, who is bored with making easy runs on dull batsman-friendly surfaces and wants to put the test back into Test cricket. Ponting told the Sydney Morning Herald that the state of the world's pitches needed attention.

"I think Test cricket is probably not as exciting anymore because of the wickets that we're playing on," Ponting said. "People would rather watch a game in Perth as they would in Antigua. There's much more happening. There's more bouncers, more batsmen ducking and weaving and sometimes falling on their backsides, more catches behind the wicket, more hook shots. That's the sort of Test cricket that we all grew up watching and enjoying.

"I've said it for a number of years now that some of the wickets we play on a round the world are just too flat, too placid. That's what I would be saying to all the authorities around the world: Let's just try and do something with the wickets. If it means digging them up and relaying them then let's try it. It's obviously not working too well at the moment."

Then again, with Australia 98 for four against West Indies in Barbados as I type (and Ponting out for 18), maybe he will be reconsidering his words.

Something I've just spotted, by the way, that is worth a mention. In getting out for 12 today, Mike Hussey's Test average has dropped below 70 for the first time since his debut Test. He has now not scored a hundred for eight innings. Hardly calamitous for a top-flight batsman but given that he got eight hundreds in his first 33 innings it is a bit of a slump.

Comments

[Pablo]

Patrick, I remember one of your comments a while back concerning the batting average. I think right after Stephen Fleming retired from test cricket, with an average barely over 40. If I remember correctly you mentioned that, based on stats, this were times of poor bowling and good batting, with higher batting averages. Regardless of how arrogant Ricky Ponting was in his comments, based on stats there might be some truth to the whole thing. Maybe the wickets are taken care of too well lately.

[Johnmc]

Haven't our last two legspinners been picked in their early 20s and been remarkable only for their inability to get the ball to actually pitch - quite a drawback in a spin bowler

[Innocent Abroad]

Can anyone imagine England picking a 25 year-old wrist-spinner with a first-class bowling average of over 40, as the Aussies have done for this Test?

We do of course have a 20 year old one with a first class average bowling average of 38... who can bat a bit, too.

Oh - you were posting about pitches. Please refer me to the time when people were satisfied with them.

[Johnmc]

Any coincidence he is saying this just after he admitted that Australia's attack is not what it used to be? Fair play to him, at least he comes across as a man who still loves Test cricket which is refreshing after the Twenty20 saturation of the past week