Guide to Australia’s grounds, conditions

2022-10-16 -

AUSTRALIA has never staged a men’s T20 World Cup, and due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, over the last couple of seasons, T20ls have only been played in Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra.

So, how will the tournament, which will be staged across seven venues, possibly play out?

With a combination of data - from all T20s from October 1, 2020, to October 1, 2022, — and expert insight from David Hussey, who has coached Melbourne Stars in the BBL for five seasons, we try to paint a picture of the characteristics of each venue and how that could impact tactics.

First, a glance at how T20 in Australia compares to the rest of the world. Across a number of metrics, the figures for the format in Australia sit mid-table, suggesting games played in the country are not at either extreme in global terms.

However, there are a few factors that stand out.

Much is often made about the size of the grounds in Australia (although these days it depends on how far in the rope is), but the fact that the country has the second-lowest boundary percentage in T20 suggests there is some truth to the belief.

At 54,1 percent runs in fours and sixes, only South Africa (51,7 percent) has a lower figure.

For sixes alone, Australia is again second lowest, with maximums accounting for 20,6 percent of runs, behind South Africa (19.6).

In Australia, batters score a three on average every 127.7 deliveries, which is by far the lowest figure.

The next lowest is England at 235.4 deliveries.

For twos as well, Australia have the lowest per-balls rate of 11.4, ahead of New Zealand at 13.1.

What this means is that batters should get their running shoes on.

The other thing that stands out is the use of wristspin, which is a vital part of T20 cricket.

Although Nathan Lyon has been outstanding as a fingerspinner in Tests in Australia, he seems to be an outlier.

In terms of spin overs in T20 in Australia, wristspin accounts for 57.6 percent.

Of overall overs bowled, it is 20,9 percent only marginally behind the percentage in Sri Lanka, which leads the way with 21 percent of overs by wristspin. The final thing worth pulling out is that the numbers favour sides batting first in Australia. Since October 2020, the country ranks second-lowest for sides chasing, behind West Indies, with a win percentage of 42,6 percent.

Ground by ground

Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG)

The venue for a host of marquee games this year, including the final, the MCG has the highest run rate, 8.30 - no doubt helped by Melbourne Stars, whose line-up features Glenn Maxwell and Marcus Stoinis - but the lowest percentage of runs in boundaries.

It also has the highest percentage of overs bowled by spin.

“Generally, the pitch at the MCG is a very, very favourable, batter friendly, easy-paced batting pitch,”said Hussey

“The boundary sizes are your friend dead straight (as a batter), whereas square either side of the field is, of course, quite big.

“Bowlers use a lot of change-ups and a lot of slower balls into the pitch, so the teams are hitting to the big square boundaries to eliminate the boundary options.

“Spin is a huge part. Leg spinners can generally drag the ball down to force a batter to hit to the bigger sides. Teams can go into the death overs by taking as many wickets as possible (through spin), so that nullifies the death overs,” he said.

Sydney Cricket Ground

It is the second-fastest scoring ground, behind the MCG.

The numbers for both wristspin (7.42 runs per over) and fingerspin (7.05) are also marginally lower than those for the Gabba.

“It’s a bit of a new-ball pitch, and batters have to be a little bit more circumspect up-front and respect the new ball by playing good cricket shots, try to conserve wickets and cash in the middle overs and towards the end of the innings,” said Hussey

“It’s always a good cricket pitch. The boundary sizes are a bit bigger than you might think. They are definitely bigger straight, and if you are going to take a risk hitting straight, you have got to really get it.

“Teams try and target one or two bowlers and try and get them out of the attack to force the opposition to bowl a part-timer, who they also target as well.

Adelaide Oval

This ground sits mid-table in most of the numbers considered here except for the economy rate of fingerspin (7.53), which is the highest, although overall it is a marginal difference to most of the other venues.

“It’s a good cricket pitch; generally, a more of a batter-friendly pitch but at the end of the innings, when you are bowling at the death, you generally bowl very, very full and target the stumps or target wide balls.

“With spin, generally, it turns there, too. And if the spinner gets on top of you, it makes the death bowling so much harder to face for the batting teams,” he said.

Perth Stadium

World Cup fixtures: Afghanistan vs England | Australia vs Group A winner | Pakistan vs Group B winner | Pakistan vs Group A runner-up | India vs South Africa Due to Western Australia’s highly restrictive border during the pandemic, Perth has only hosted six T20s in the span for this data.

It has the lowest overall run rate of the six traditional venues, but has the highest percentage of runs in boundaries at 57.5.

In this small sample, the chasing team has struggled - five defeats in six matches.

“Same dimensions as the MCG; It’s an unusual pitch because sometimes it goes through very, very quickly, and it takes probably an over or two to get used to the pace and the bounce,” said Hussey.

“Sometimes in the first six overs, you can get panned everywhere and then drag it back in the middle through spin and through the use of the quicks who have to bowl a lot of short stuff.

“If you are batting, generally use the pace to your advantage. Lots of late cuts, lots of deflections down past the wicketkeeper or fine leg for four, and if you are going to play the pull shot, try and get your hands above the ball and try to keep it on the ground and hit the gaps.

“The outfield is so fast that you get a lot of value for runs for good cricket shots.

Brisbane Cricket Ground

World Cup fixtures: Bangladesh vs Group B winner | Australia vs Group B runner-up | Afghanistan vs Group A winner | England vs New Zealand

The Gabba, with the second-lowest boundary percentage behind the

MCG, can be a tough place for pace in T20 - the difference between pace economy (8.65) and spin (6.85) is the largest. The data also supports Hussey’s point below about the value of wristspin at the ground: it has the lowest economy across the venues.

“The Gabba is probably the best batting pitch in Australia for whiteball cricket.

“Easy-paced. It’s just a beautiful batting pitch.

“So if you’re bowling, it’s wide yorkers, lots of slower balls into the pitch, and not too dissimilar to the MCG, get the batters hitting to the biggest sides of the ground, using the boundaries as your friend,” he said.

Bellerive Oval, Hobart

World Cup fixtures: Scotland vs West Indies | Ireland vs Zimbabwe

| Ireland vs Scotland | West Indies vs Zimbabwe | Ireland vs West Indies

| Scotland vs Zimbabwe | Group A winner vs Group B runner-up | Bangladesh vs Group A runner-up | South Africa vs Group B winner

It has far and away the highest economy rate for wristspinners, at 8.76, more than a run higher per over than the next highest, which is the MCG at 7.59.

“Batter-friendly. Just go hard from ball one. Rarely going to get bowled out.

“It has very small boundaries on both sides of the ground, and generally one end is pretty small too,” said Hussey. Simonds Stadium, Geelong World Cup fixtures: Namibia vs Sri Lanka | Netherlands vs UAE | Namibia vs Netherlands | Sri Lanka vs UAE | Netherlands vs Sri Lanka | Namibia vs UAE

This ground has only hosted three matches in the last two years, so it does not feature in the overall numbers for this piece, but in those games, runs have come at just 7.52 an over.

“It’s pretty much like Hobart actually. Very small, straight. Very small one side.

“The pitch is unusual because it’s a drop-in pitch and sometimes they are batter-friendly and sometimes they’re not,” said Hussey.

?? ?? VIEW FROM THE TOP . . . An aerial view of the Brisbane Cricket Ground, better known as the Gabba — VIEW FROM THE TOP . . . An aerial view of the Brisbane Cricket Ground, better known as the Gabba