PITCH PERFECT FOR T20S
The ICC men’s T20 World Cup caravan is set to visit Oceania for the first time. It was initially pencilled in for October-november 2020 but had to be postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Kardinia Park in Geelong will host the first match (on October 16), while the Melbourne Cricket Ground will host the final (November 13). Here’s a brief look at all the seven venues.
An iconic Test venue, the Adelaide Oval is set to host its first men’s T20I since October 2019. The capital of South Australia has been earmarked for seven matches, including the second semifinal on November 10. India plays its Super 12 match against Bangladesh here on November 2, while host Australia takes on Afghanistan here two days later.
As the name suggests, the ground is oval in shape, making it more difficult to access the long, straight boundaries. While the pitch is considered good for batting — the average score for teams batting first in the five T20IS played is more than 181 — spinners tend to find assistance. Spinners have taken 328 wickets in all T20s here — the most among all venues in Australia — at an average of 26.06. This is the second-best among the seven venues for the T20 World Cup.
The Gabba is steeped in cricketing history. The first tied Test was held here in 1960, as well as the first T20I in Australia in 2006. In 2021, India became the first team in 32 years to breach the Gabba fortress in Tests on the back of Rishabh Pant’s heroics.
The Gabba is set to host four matches of the T20 World Cup, including a blockbuster contest between England and New Zealand, the semifinalists of the 2021 edition, on November 1.
Gabba is known to produce one of the most sporting pitches in Australia. The consistent bounce helps strokemakers and run-scoring, as the overall run rate of 8.28 in T20s suggests. While fast bowlers, averaging just over 25, can expect to find good rewards for their efforts, spinners can be useful in putting a squeeze on the runs (spinners have an economy rate of 7.36) at the ground.
Having hosted a solitary men’s T20I in February 2017 and just nine T20s since 2009, Kardinia Park, also known as Simonds Stadium, in Geelong, will be one of the two hosts of the first-round matches.
Kardinia Park will host the first match — between Sri Lanka and Namibia — on October 16, followed by one between UAE and the Netherlands the same day. A total of six first-round matches will be held here in three days.
As Kardinia Park is mainly used for Australian rules football, it is narrower than most cricketing venues. The drop-in pitch is laid down at an angle, making it easier for batters to score boundaries behind square.
Scoring runs at Kardinia Park is not easy as it has the lowest run rate (7.89) in T20s among all venues in Australia. Fast bowlers thrive here, averaging just over 22, while spinners can be economical.
The Bellerive Oval in Hobart will host just its fourth international T20 when Scotland faces West Indies in a first-round Group B match on October 17. Home to Hobart Hurricanes in the Big Bash League, the Tasmanian ground hosted its first international T20 match in 2010 — between Australia and West Indies. The Aussies won that contest, and the next two games held there too — against England in 2014 and 2018.
In 68 T20s at the venue, teams batting first have emerged victorious on 39 occasions, while those chasing have won 28. Hobart boasts of the highest run rate — 8.32 — among all seven venues for the tournament. Therefore, it could feature some of the high-scoring matches when it holds six Group B, one Group 1, and two Group 2 games.
Acumulative experience of five international matches makes the Perth Stadium one of the youngest stadiums at this year’s men’s T20 World Cup.
With matches being moved away from the iconic WACA Ground, the Perth Stadium held its first international T20I between Australia and Pakistan in 2019.
Perth earned a dress rehearsal when Australia met England on October 9 in the first game of its three-match T20I series before the World Cup.
Teams batting first have won 13 of the 22 T20 matches in Perth and have racked up 11 180-plus totals, while only one match has witnessed a successful 180-plus run chase. The stadium will host five Super 12 matches. India will play South Africa at the venue on Oct. 30.
India has played only one match in Perth — the stadium’s inaugural Test, in 2018 — losing to Australia by 146 runs.