The Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) pitch, used for the recent fifth and final Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy clash, has been rated 'satisfactory' by the International Cricket Council (ICC).
This rating contrasts with the other four BGT venues—Optus Stadium in Perth, Adelaide Oval, the Gabba in Brisbane and the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG)—which were all given a 'very good' rating.
In a statement, Cricket Australia explained that the SCG aims to showcase its unique characteristics, including early pace and bounce before the pitch deteriorates and starts to spin.
This year, the pitch was a step in the right direction, contributing to an exciting finish in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series and setting a positive precedent for the Ashes summer of 2025-26.
"The SCG has been striving to bring out their unique characteristics of early pace and bounce before the pitch wears and spins. This year was a step in the right direction to achieving this which provided an exciting finish to the Border Gavaskar Trophy series and bodes well for the Ashes summer in 2025-26," Cricket Australia said in a statement.
Despite the positive outlook from Cricket Australia, the SCG pitch faced considerable criticism from both current and former players.
The surface, which had a thick layer of grass, was widely deemed unsuitable for Test cricket.
The match lasted less than three days, with only 191 overs bowled and just 685 runs scored, as 15 wickets fell on the second day of the Test.
Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar was particularly vocal in his disapproval, stating that the pitch was far from ideal for Test cricket.
"This is not the ideal Test match pitch that you want because you want it to go into a fourth and fifth day," said Gavaskar.
"If 15 wickets fell (on one day) in India, all hell would have broken loose. We had Glenn McGrath saying he'd never seen so much grass. Did you hear any former India cricketer moan about the pitch?," he said while commentating during the series.
Several current Australian players also expressed dissatisfaction with the pitch.
Usman Khawaja described it as a "stinker," noting, "I'm not gonna lie, I didn't want to talk about it too much beforehand, but the wicket was a stinker."
"It wasn't like a traditional SCG wicket with the new grass on it, there's cracks all over it, it's been tough batting, the scoreboard will tell you that. Thankfully we were on the right side of the win but when it's a wicket like that you're always on a knife edge," Khawaja added.
Steve Smith, who remained stranded at 9999 career runs, called it the toughest pitch he had ever encountered at the SCG.
"By a mile. It was two-paced, up and down, seaming all over the place, swinging. I've never played on a wicket like that at the SCG before. It was incredibly difficult to bat," said Smith.
