Carrara Oval Queensland pitch report Metricon Stadium: Queensland Cricket Ground pitch report AUS vs WI 1st T20

Carrara Oval Queensland pitch report Metricon Stadium: The SportsRush brings you the pitch report of AUS vs WI 1st T20I.

Australia will take on West Indies in the 1st T20I of the 2-match series at the Metricon Stadium in Gold Coast, Queensland. Both sides would want to get their combination set ahead of the T20 World Cup in Australia.

Australia will welcome back the trio of Mitchell Starc, David Warner and Mitch Marsh, whereas Marcus Stoinis is still unavailable. Marsh will play this match as a specialist batter only. Australia lost the last series in India, and they would want to make a comeback. Cameron Green may again find a spot in the playing 11.

West Indies will have to play the qualifiers in order to reach the main group of the T20 World Cup, and this is an important series for them. Shimron Hetmyer has been ruled out of the World Cup, whereas Evin Lewis is making his return to the squad. Brandon King was the highest run-scorer of CPL 2022, and he would want to continue his form.

Carrara Oval Queensland pitch report Metricon Stadium

The Metricon Stadium or Carrara Oval in Gold Coast in Queensland is a multi-specialist stadium, and it hosts a variety of sports such as Cricket, Rugby and Soccer. This ground has hosted just a single T20I so far, that was between Australia and South Africa in 2018, where South Africa won the match.

Although International matches stayed away from the Metricon Stadium, this ground has hosted a total of 15 BBL games so far, where the chasing teams won the match 9 times. The average 1st innings score in BBL has been 155 runs. In the last BBL season, this ground hosted 3 games, where the average 1st innings score was 139 runs.

There is a good amount of bounce available on this track, and the pacers can take full advantage of it. Due to comparatively bigger boundaries, the spinners also come into play in the middle-overs. Once set, the batters can play their shots and the faster outfield will help their cause as well.

Australian captain Aaron Finch said that they cannot say about the nature of the wicket until the game starts. He said that the pitch got hardened as compared to yesterday.

“You’re not really sure what you’ll get until the game starts. It looks like it’s hardened up overnight. It was a touch soft yesterday,” Aaron Finch said of what the drop-in pitch at Metricon can produce.

Both captains would opt to chase upon winning the toss. This is a very competitive wicket where there is a help for almost everyone. 170 can be a really good score on this very track.