Meet the groundsman whose pitches never fail Aussies
“Nah, the last one was on the old man’s watch,” says Kevin Mitchell Jnr, the Gabba groundsman, when asked if he had ever prepared a pitch for an Australian defeat.
If Australia’s amazing record in their Brisbane fortress is one of modern sport’s true phenomenons, then Mitchell Jnr is the man who can claim a slice of responsibility for it. He has spent 27 years as head groundsman at the ‘Gabbatoir’ – and 33 on the staff – having taken over the top job from his father, also called Kevin, in 1990. Since then he has presided over 21 wins and six draws. As he approaches his own retirement – he waves goodbye to the ground at the end of this Test – there is no mistaking the pride he takes in that achievement.
Mitchell Jnr says his latest pitch will have a “tinge of green” on day one before “settling down into a good batting deck”. In other words a typical Gabba surface. The bounce is more pronounced here than at the Adelaide Oval, MCG and SCG (or “southern grounds” as Mitchell Jnr called them) which he attributes to the high clay content.
“It is about 74 per cent here,” he says. “At the south grounds it is in the 60s. The Waca is in the 80s which is why they get so much bounce. The elements here, the heat for drying it out, helps the bounce. The pace holds together well and it can turn towards the end so everyone gets chance. You can have a poor session and still get out of trouble, which we saw a couple of Ashes series ago [when England drew, ending a run of successive Australia wins at the Gabba].”