Perth [Australia]: Isaac McDonald, who is overseeing the preparations for the third Test strip, is expecting quicks to enjoy “good pace and bounce” in the Border Gavaskar Trophy series opener between India and Australia.
The hype around the five Tests between the two Tests heavyweights has been surreal. Australia and India will compete for the bragging rights and potentially decide the fate of the World Test Championship final next year in London.
However, the weather forecast has been something to keep an eye on after several weather reports suggested unseasonal rain. In the past couple of days, there has been some rain in Perth, leading to the non-traditional preparation for the series opener.
“Yeah, it’s definitely not traditional Perth Test prep weather at all. Yesterday, we pretty much lost the whole day of prep, with it being under the cover. So we kind of saw the forecast early on, and we started to prep a little bit earlier than we normally would,” McDonald told reporters ahead of the first Test on Friday.
“So we were sitting quite comfortably. Still, it’d be nice if the sun would pop out and do its job. But as of this morning, we’re in a good spot. We’re really comfortable as a curating team,” he added.
With a slight chance of weather impacting the time of play, the pitch could be affected if the rain worsens. Under such circumstances, the 27-year-old is not expecting the pitch to fall apart but only deteriorate as the game progresses.
“I don’t think this weather is going to make this pitch fall apart as there’ll be some deterioration. Grass will stand up during the game and offer that variable bounce. I think there would still be good pace and bounce on the pitch. It’ll just come in. How well they look after the ball and how true the surface stays,” McDonald noted.
Notably, Perth hosted the ODI series decider between Australia and Pakistan earlier this month. Pakistan claimed the accolades for the first time in 22 years, with speedster Haris Rauf making the most out of the bounce off the turf.
For the 27-year-old, if such a bounce can be emulated on the Test strip, then it would be a really good pitch to compete on for both sides.
“I think the Pakistani bowlers were quite skiddy, whereas our boys kind of hit the wicket… I was really happy with that pace and bounce, and if we can emulate that on the test strip, then I think that’s going to be a really good pitch,” he remarked.