All-weather Pitches

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Tongs

Tongs

Well-Known Member
I was having a chat to one of the boys from my club last night about the current state of pitches, and how they are playing etc. We were talking about how, when the new pitches came in that there were a series of very low scores, and bowlers seemed to be all for the new pitches, batsmen dead against them. Now, there seems to be a shift. Scores seem to be back to “normal” and bowlers complaining that they struggle to get wickets LBW and Bowled, and that batsmen are now able to just slog to cow corner without fear of being bowled should they miss the pill. Spinners are an interesting case, as some hate the pitches because of the bounce, some love it because of the bounce.

Just out of curiosity, if there was a possibility of keeping the current all-weather pitches or going back to the old pitches (synthetic, not mats for you old boys) , what one would you choose? And if you’re happy to share, state if you’re a batsmen or bowler.


** I get the above is not everyone’s thoughts, from a bowling or batting view. It was just the discussion we were having about what we have noticed and not necessarily correct.
 
My thoughts are that the all season decks are a bigger issue for the comp than the current cricket ball debacle.
BHRDCA introduced the all season decks back around 5 years ago , the outcome was a joke and rightfully so they pulled them all up and replaced them with the proper synthetic.
Some points:
Junior cricketers don’t develop the front foot drive as they lack opportunity due to the bounce and height when the ball is delivered.
Any synthetic pitches should emulate turf pitches , this enhances the development of bowlers and batsman that wish to pursue premier cricket.
When a Leg spinner delivers a perfect line and length ball, the batsman can just leave it without any fear of being bowled.
Mediocre bowlers are better bowlers on all season decks due to the bounce.
The game is a better spectacle as batsman are forced to play more balls.
I can add more points but you get my gist , i do know that the VCA are not happy about the All season decks as well on the basis of junior player development.
Bottom line the surface is a joke.
I try to be a batsman and bowler ,now have become a expert fielder ;)
 
I would agree that the pitches are worse than the balls. The balls are fine if it is a sunny day, only when its overcast you can't see them.

As for the pitches, I hate them. As a bowler its very hard to hit the top of off stump with a good length ball. It takes a lot of bowleds and lbws out of the equation. The only way to hit the stumps is with a yorker. Plus, because the batsman can leave good length balls, it also makes it hard to get edges. I've noticed that a lot more dismissals these days seem to be caught, and not caught in the slip cordon.

The old synthetic pitches that were a few years old and worn flat were the best one's to play on. The bounce was low, just like cricket is supposed to be on turf.
 
Players develop in senior cricket as well before embarking on turf cricket level , so the same principles in junior cricket should still apply.
Hopefully one day the pitches get ripped up while they are at it , they can make the pitches wider.
DVCA is a fantastic competition now , great grounds and facilities.
Areas they will need to improve on are:the surface, pitch width and the quality of the cricket balls.
 
spinnersclub said:
My thoughts are that the all season decks are a bigger issue for the comp than the current cricket ball debacle.
BHRDCA introduced the all season decks back around 5 years ago , the outcome was a joke and rightfully so they pulled them all up and replaced them with the proper synthetic.
Some points:
Junior cricketers don’t develop the front foot drive as they lack opportunity due to the bounce and height when the ball is delivered.
Any synthetic pitches should emulate turf pitches , this enhances the development of bowlers and batsman that wish to pursue premier cricket.
When a Leg spinner delivers a perfect line and length ball, the batsman can just leave it without any fear of being bowled.
Mediocre bowlers are better bowlers on all season decks due to the bounce.
The game is a better spectacle as batsman are forced to play more balls.
I can add more points but you get my gist , i do know that the VCA are not happy about the All season decks as well on the basis of junior player development.
Bottom line the surface is a joke.
I try to be a batsman and bowler ,now have become a expert fielder ;)
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Spinnersclub, the pitch doesnt make much difference to leg spinners like yourself who bowl full tosses !!!
 
The ball is presumably a short term issue. Before the 4 piece it was platypus. See what happens with next season's balls. Hopefully the DVCA get stuck into them and mark 2 are much better, and the comp doesn't have to wait to revert to kookaburras to get a decent ball.

Prefer the old pitches. Agree with the point that was made above that Synthetic pitches should be trying to simulate turf cricket wickets. There isn't enough incentive to get on the front hoof on these pitches unless you're Motschall's height. So people now just hang back. Slog across the line.

On the bowling side of things the comp is dominated by medium pacers. Some side's bowling attacks are 4-5 medium pacers. How many genuine quicks or spinners are running around in the comp? The pitches have flattened out. But I'm not sure that they give enough incentive to batting "correctly".
 
From a personal point of view they can be frustrating to bat on, slow and spongy but it does change from ground to ground. Ours is noticeably slower now than it was two years ago. Makes it very hard to drive on, I don't feel like there are less LBWs though.

From a junior development point of view coaches need to think a bit outside the square to ensure they develop their players. It is doable but you actually need to coach them not manage training. Kids won't develop themselves on this stuff.

From a cricket point of view it is much more of a grinding game than it used to be. Medium pacers can really lock you up and the quicks are much better to face. Old timers at our club say its a bit drab but 180 on this stuff is a pretty good score.

Spinners Club you sound like a gun.
 
Not many lightning quicks but a few sharp ones. The better sides have lots of diversity in their attacks.

shortnwide said:
On the bowling side of things the comp is dominated by medium pacers. Some side's bowling attacks are 4-5 medium pacers. How many genuine quicks or spinners are running around in the comp? The pitches have flattened out. But I'm not sure that they give enough incentive to batting "correctly".
Click to expand...
 
I don't mind batting on the all weather pitches, but I think for the good of the game as a whole, it needs to go back to the old decks. One thing it would do is make pre-season training useful again. At the moment, most pre-season training is virtually useless at indoor places as the carpet there plays nothing like the all weather stuff.

Mind you, if it did go back be prepared for a season of low batting totals as everyone gets use to the lack of bounce. I bet there would be a lot of bowled and LBW the first few games.
 
Mighty Mouse said:
Do you think you'd get a game as an opener in the ones blackawk on the old pitches? You seem to be out of favour with the new big fish skipper at BU.
Squeak squeak!!!
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Mouse, keep the discussion topic on what the thread is about. Cut the witch hunting crap out. We're all growing tiresome of your childish rubbish.
 
Personally I much prefer the original synthetic.
As a batsman who occasionally rolls the arm over the new synthetic pitches encourage bad technique ie slogging across the line and don't encourage getting on the front foot and driving with any confidence.Most runs in games that I have played and watched are scored from behind cover and mid wicket.Batsman are tending to only half go foreward or playing off the backfoot and for those who do drive it is generally over the top of the infield.
As for the bowlers,medium pacers who would struggle big time on turf or the old synthetic are the ones who are getting all the wickets purely because of the bounce that they generate out of theses sponges.
Yes every ground tends to have different pitches due to the different suppliers/layers but I think this adds to the competition.I wouldn't want every ground to play the same,takes away the advantage of knowing your pitch and the good players are able to adapt.
In short bring back the old synthetic for crickets sake.
After all the only reason we have these sponge pitches is for football.
 
We'll said reverend. Squeak can't think of anyone who is any good off the front foot. Maybe Malone is the only one that comes to mind. Sqqqqeeeeeeeaaaaaaaak!
 
For what its worth i played on the old decks over in the ferntree gully for 2 yrs and i loved it. Bowlers treated harshly tho so it would be worth bringing back rule of new ball available after 200 runs to even things up. From where i stand now still too many bowlers not pitching up enough is reason for less lbws, not the pitches!
 
200 rule rewards shit bowling. 60 overs would be entertaining though.

charlie sheen said:
For what its worth i played on the old decks over in the ferntree gully for 2 yrs and i loved it. Bowlers treated harshly tho so it would be worth bringing back rule of new ball available after 200 runs to even things up. From where i stand now still too many bowlers not pitching up enough is reason for less lbws, not the pitches!
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