AUS vs SA | It wasn’t a very good Test wicket in Brisbane, claims Dean Elgar

In a low-scoring contest at the Gabba, Australia beat South Africa by six wickets on Sunday to take a 1-0 lead in the series. It was the second shortest Test game played in Australia on basis of the ball bowled as the match concluded in just 866 deliveries. South Africa were sent to bat by Australia after winning the toss and the hosts bundled them out on 152 and 99 respectively. The team won the game by posting totals of 218 and 35/4 in both innings. 

However, the soft, green, and seaming pitch in Brisbane has come under scrutiny after the result. Several former cricketers have criticized the nature of the pitch saying it was too much friendly for the bowlers. South Africa skipper Dean Elgar has also blasted the nature of the pitch saying it wasn’t a good advertisement for Test cricket. 

"Let's not waste any time. You've got to ask yourself - is that a good advertisement for our format? Thirty-four wickets in two days; a pretty one-sided affair I would say. We want to see the game go to four or five days,” Elgar said in the post-match press conference. 

"The nature of how it started to play, with some seriously steep bounce with the old ball, you're on a hiding to nothing as a batting unit. Only three batsmen applied themselves half-decently and scored runs. I don't think that was a very good Test wicket."

Travis Head was the highest run-scorer in the match with his knock of 92 runs while Kyle Verreynne played a knock of 64 runs being the second-highest run-scorer in the innings. Out of 34 batters dismissed throughout the game, 15 faced ten or fewer deliveries. The extremely difficult conditions to bat were evident in Australia’s chase as well after they lost four batters in single digits. Elgar commented that the divots on the pitch started to get harder earlier in the game and that shouldn’t happen. 

"I'm not going to say it was unsafe or it wasn't safe," Elgar said, doubtless to avoid the insult of a fine being added to the injury that potentially awaited those who dared bat on the surface,” he explained. 

"The edges of the divots start to get harder and they become more abrasive because the wicket starts drying out. Back home the wickets are also prone to creating those divots, and it becomes a handful. But generally, that only happens later in the game, when those divots start playing quite a big role. This one seemed to start yesterday already.”