The International Cricket Council (ICC) has released its ground ratings for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, with the Perth Stadium, Adelaide Oval, Gabba and MCG pitches all receiving the highest “very good” rating and the SCG receiving the second top category of “satisfactory”.
Ratings come as the Kangaroos, last week the Kangaroos secured a 3-1 win in the five-match series to reclaim the Border-Gavaskar Trophy for the first time in a decade.
Losing the first match in Perth, the hosts came back strongly to win the second, fourth and fifth Tests, while the third match was drawn.
With the series win, Australia also reached the World Test Championship final against South Africa at Lord’s in June.
The pitch rating system, revamped in 2023 to reduce the number of ratings from six to four – very good, satisfactory, unsatisfactory and unsuitable – awards points to venues if they receive unsatisfactory or unsuitable ratings.
“We are delighted with the quality of the pitches produced for the NRMA Insurance Border-Gavaskar Trophy series and grateful for all the hard work of the curators and venues across the country,” said CA Head of Cricket Operations and Scheduling Peter Roach.
“We are calling for pitches that highlight the unique characteristics of this venue and this has long been a part of Australian cricket. We strongly believe this is one of the reasons why Test cricket is so popular in Australia.
“We are not looking to prepare wickets that favor the home side or suit our situation in a series. What we are looking for is a good contest between bat and ball and pitches that are likely to produce a result.
“The weather obviously plays a significant role in the preparation and we know that even our most skilled curators are sometimes challenged by adverse weather,” he added.
Noting that the SCG has been striving to bring out their unique qualities of early pace and bounce before the pitch wears and turns, Roach noted that this year was a step in the right direction to achieve this, making for an exciting finish for the Border Gavaskar Trophy series and bodes well for the Ashes summer of 2025-26.
“The series also highlighted the benefits of playing first-class cricket in big venues. It allows our curators to become more familiar with the different challenges involved in preparing wickets in different weather conditions and also gives players an opportunity to break into the Test squad , who are familiar with the conditions they will face,” he concluded.
