The pitches used in the ongoing series between Australia and Pakistan have come under the scanner. After a drawn Test at Rawalpindi, the second game at the National Stadium in Karachi seems to head to the same direction as Australia batted for more than two days and amassed 556 runs in the first innings.
The pitch at Pindi Stadium was labelled below average by ICC as the nature of the surface didn’t change across five days and there was little to no help for the bowlers – spinners and pacers alike. Terming the Test matches boring, former Pakistan pacer Wasim Akram lashed out at the PCB Chairman Ramiz Raja for preparing dead pitches for a historical series against Australia.
Speaking at an event on Monday, Akram said that after two deliveries at Rawalpindi he knew that match was going to end in a draw while mentioning that he hasn’t been able to watch the games because of the flatness of the surfaces.
“During our time it depended a lot on what the captain wanted. These two Test matches I tried to watch it but I couldn’t. As a ex-fast bowler I knew this would be a draw match after the second delivery of the match. When West Indies used to come back in our days, when Imran Khan was the captain, we used to make slow pitches,” Akram said in a loud voice.
Akram then elaborated on the method of preparing slow tracks and how they can be made turners to assist the spinners from Day 1.
“There is a method to making slow tracks. If you want to do that, on the basis of technicality, you roll the centre less and leave the area around the front foot a little dry so that the ball turns from day 1. If you want to make slow pitches at least make it a turner so that we get a result-oriented match. I hope they learn from it whoever is making the pitches. It is quite boring to be honest,” he added.
