“Masterpiece of a Test wicket”: Craddock hails Perth curator for first Test pitch

Veteran cricket journalist Robert Craddock has hailed Optus Stadium head curator Isaac McDonald for the pitch he and his team has produced for the first Test match between Australia and India.

While Australia has endured a disaster of a game so far, needing 522 to win with just seven wickets in hand after being convincingly outplayed for the last two and a half days, Craddock thinks that the pitch has more than done its job.

On Day 1, the pitch seamed and offered plenty of bounce as 17 wickets fell, primarily to seam. On Day 2, the wicket flattened out as just three wickets fell with India making full use of the batting conditions. On Day 3, batting started off in favour before cracks began to appear and variable bounce arose, allowing the bowlers to get back into the game.

With the pitch offering various conditions across three days, Craddock described the surface as a ‘masterpiece’.

“I’m incredibly impressed by young Isaac McDonald, the Optus Stadium curator who at age 27 has produced what I must say is just a masterpiece of a Test wicket,” Craddock told SEN Whateley.

“This is what you want out of a Test wicket. I know the batsman will not agree for the first day, but it was blood and thunder on the first day with wickets falling everywhere.

“Then it handed over to the batsman and now it's back to the bowlers with the cracks.

“I mean, that is a gorgeous Test wicket.”

While Craddock hasn’t been a fan of drop-in pitches across the nation over the last 30 years, he concedes that decks are improving at all of the MCG, Adelaide Oval and now Optus Stadium as venues that bring pitches in for the summer.

“I've been bagging drop-in pitches for 20 years, but I've got to stop because they are improving,” Craddock said.

“This to me is just what a Test wicket should be. Anyone who's ever grown anything in the backyard knows how hard it is to tame Mother Nature.

“So, in three days, he's had three different themes. Superb job young man, you get a gold star.”  

Day 4 begins on Monday at 1:20pm (AEDT) and 10:20am (AWST) with Australia 3/12 chasing 534 to win. Listen to every ball LIVE on SEN and the SEN app.