The first look of the Gabba wicket two days out from the second Test between Australia and West Indies has revealed a very green strip that will have bowlers licking their lips.
Cricket writer Bharat Sundaresan posted a picture to X on Tuesday that showed the strip with a healthy coverage of green grass.
While the photo was taken 48 hours before ball one, with the pitch expected to dry out to some degree, the batters could still be in for a rough ride.
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“Yeah it’s two days out from the Test but surely there’s only that much green that can be taken out when it’s that green in the first place,” Sundaresan posted.
“Especially at the Gabba. Good for the series though. Makes it a more even contest.”
The Gabba curators are already under pressure to produce a good Test strip after the first Test between Australia and South Africa last summer ended in two days.
That led to the Gabba pitch being given a ‘below average’ rating by the ICC, earning the venue its first demerit point.
The point will stay on the ground’s record for five years — with five points seeing the venue banned from hosting international cricket.
WEATHER UPDATES (As of 11am AEDT)
Teams will be hoping for plenty of play across the first two days of the Test with things looking worrying from day three onwards.
The Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) is forecasting only a five per cent chance of rain on Thursday and a top temperature of 32.
That is followed by only a 50 per cent chance of some showers in the afternoon and evening on Friday.
From Saturday though, monsoonal conditions could hit the Queensland capital.
Days three, four and five all have a “very high” chance of rain, with falls potentially hitting up to 30 millimetres each day, according to BOM.
CAREY’S SPECIAL AWARD AFTER RUN-OUT FURORE
After producing one of the most talked about sporting moments of 2023, Test keeper Alex Carey was a surprise selection among five Australians named in the ICC Test team of the year.
The list includes Aussie skipper Pat Cummins, who was named captain.
The World Test Championship winners made up nearly half the team, with run machines Usman Khawaja and Travis Head also picked along with veteran fast bowler Mitchell Starc.
Head’s brilliant 2023 was also recognised with inclusion in the ODI team of the year, but only he and spin star Adam Zampa were included despite Australia’s World Cup triumph, with the team they conquered, India, having five representatives.
In the women’s ODI team of the year, however, Australians dominated selection with five named, including next-gen stars Phoebe Litchfield and Annabel Sutherland as well as veteran gun Ellyse Perry, who also made the T20 team of the year.
Carey’s run-out of English rival Jonny Bairstow during the second Ashes Test at Lord’s sparked outrage among the locals and initiated debate around the world over the merits of his actions, which garnered the full support of his teammates and a host of former players.
Amid suggestions the fallout played a part in his dumping from the ODI side during the World Cup, Carey returned to the Test team for the Australian summer, posting two half-centuries in three Tests against Pakistan.
Khawaja earned his spot in the team for the second year in a row after being the only player to pass 1000 Test runs in 2023, making 1210 runs at an average of 52.60 and three centuries.
Head’s ODI selection comes after a player-of-the match performance in Australia’s World Cup triumph, making a 120-ball 137, while Zampa was his team’s leading wicket-taker in the tournament.
Litchfield and Sutherland are the breakthrough stars in the Australia’s women’s team.
Having not played an ODI before 2023, 20-year-old opener Litchfield had a huge impact in her first 13 matches, scoring 485 runs at an average of 53.88 and she is a strong contender for the ICC Emerging Women’s Player of the Year award.
Sutherland, regarded by some as a future Australian captain, made impact with bat and ball and is now a mainstay of the white-ball teams.
Beth Mooney and Ash Gardner made both the ODI and T20 teams of the year.
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