Former Australia skipper Michael Clarke has slammed the pitch of Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) - venue of the last Test in recently-concluded Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT). The match was over in less than two and a half days with Australia winning the match by six wickets.
"The SCG is my favourite ground in the world, it is my home ground, and I hate saying this out loud, but that's the worst pitch I've ever seen in Sydney," Clarke told ESPN's Around The Wicket. "I didn't think it was a good cricket wicket, balls not just going up off the surface but shooting low at the end of day two."
Also Read: Champions Trophy 2025: PCB to inaugurate Lahore stadium on January 25
The match saw 11 wickets falling on day 1 and 15 on day 2 while day 3 saw eight wickets lost by both the teams in total before the result.
ICC Rates SCG Pitch 'Satisfactory'
The pitch received 'satisfactory' rating from the ICC while rest of the four venues - Perth, Adelaide, Brisbane and Melbourne - all were rated 'very good' by the apex cricket body.
The SCG has been criticised in the past for offering benign pitches with nothing available for bowlers resulting in four draws in last five seasons.
Australia coach Andrew McDonald, however, praised the SCG curator for preparing a pitch with 'something in it.'
"The ground staff have done an incredible job in terms of creating a wicket with something in it," he had said after end of play on day two.
"Traditionally here it's quite benign and we've had a lot of draws, so a lot of people have been talking about the draws, so you're damned if you do it and damned if you don't. I think he's trying to produce an even contest between bat and ball. It's made for interesting cricket," he added.
The series ended with Australia regaining the BGT after a decade with 3-1 series victory.