Fresh questions are being asked about the state of the SCG pitch on the eve of the Ashes against England, after wickets tumbled on a deck that played plenty of tricks on Wednesday. Steve Smith was the only NSW player to deal well with the surface that saw plenty of balls stay low, and the match finished inside three days.
Smith made 57 and 56 not out to show he’s in superb touch leading into the Ashes. But the home team were rolled for 128 and 125 to lose to Victoria by 300 runs.
There were concerning scenes on day three on Wednesday when a number of batters were dismissed by balls that stayed low. Peter Handscomb, who scored 104 in the first innings on a much better surface, was bowled for a duck in the second dig by a ball that didn’t get up early on the third day.
Steve Smith (L) was the only NSW batter to thrive, while Kurtis Patterson (R) was among the many dismissed by balls that stayed low. Image: Getty/cricket.com.au
Oliver Peake was also knocked over by one that stayed low as Victoria declared on 9-171 to send NSW in to face the tricky conditions. Even though Smith managed to survive, he had to play a number of balls that almost rolled along the deck.
His teammates weren’t as lucky, with Sam Konstas (27), Ryan Hicks (2), Kurtis Patterson (7), Josh Philippe (5) and Nathan Lyon (0) all dismissed lbw by balls that shot low. On SEN radio, commentator Adam White said it was a concerning sight for the pitch to be playing so many tricks on the third day.
“The ball is rolling along the ground at times,” he said. “You wouldn’t want Steve Smith to break a finger, and then there’s all sorts of problems ahead of the Ashes. It’s borderline dangerous. We can ill afford to have a situation where Scott Boland hurts Steve Smith and he can’t play in the Ashes next week. They’ve got to do something about the SCG pitch. It’s been a problem for quite some time.”
Cricket world fumes over ‘diabolical’ scenes
On social media, White pointed out that curators have had extra time to prepare the Sydney wicket this year because the Swans didn’t make the AFL finals. In. years gone by, the grounds crew normally have to wait until the end of the AFL finals to prepare the cricket pitch, but they had early access in 2025.
He wrote: “Seriously, this pitch at the SCG is not good enough. It was meant to be better this summer because Sydney didn’t make the AFL finals series. An extra month to get it ready. It’s running along the ground on the third day! This is a problem. A big problem.”
Another person wrote: “This pitch at the SCG is an absolute disgrace. Day 3 wicket, no rain, not hot and it’s not bouncing. If this was a Test match it would be worldwide news.” While a third added: “For day 3, the wicket has kept alarmingly low. That was diabolical. The 3-day Test against India in 2024-25 was on a foul pitch as well. They have to fix this ASAP.”
Steve Smith made nearly half of NSW’s total runs against Victoria. (Photo by Matt King/Getty Images)
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SCG pitch was also slammed last summer
Unfortunately it’s not a new issue for the SCG. The surface created dramas during the AFL season, while the pitch has copped backlash for the last few cricket summers. In January, Michael Clarke said it was the worst he’d ever seen at the SCG after the fifth Test between Australia and India, while Tim Paine labelled it ’embarrassing’.
“The SCG is my favourite ground in the world and 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 said on ESPN. “I didn’t think it was a good cricket wicket.
“Balls not just going up off the surface but also shooting low at the end of day two. If we went to India and played and they produced a wicket like that in regards to a raging turner and the game and the game was over in two and a half days, all Australian cricket fans would be kicking up a stink.”
On Wednesday, fans were blown away by how well Smith batted considering the conditions. He made 113 runs for the match, compared to just 140 for the rest of his teammates combined. However many were calling for something to be done about the pitch at the iconic Sydney ground.