Brisbane Pitch Report: Australian great Ian Healy has provided an update of the pitch at the Gabba ahead of the first Ashes 2021-22 test.
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The Ashes 2021-22 is set to start in less than 24 hours. Brisbane’s iconic Gabba stadium is all set to host the first test of the premier series. Pat Cummins will be leading the Aussie attack for the first time, whereas Carey will take the gloves. England will see the return of Ben Stokes in this series. However, the injury of James Anderson is a big blow for the away side.
Australia’s record in Brisbane is terrific, but they lost their last test here against India. However, the pitch for the first Ashes test is quite a talked-about topic. The Gabba is famous for its bounce, and we can expect the same here in this test too. Australian great Ian Healy has provided the all-needed pitch report of the Gabba.
“It’s green … I think this might be a bowl first (pitch),” Healy said.
“It goes against a lot in our cricket mythology.
“It’s been overcast, heavy rain last week, there was a big storm again on Saturday night.”
Healy said day two could be just as difficult so batting second could help.
“If you get knocked over on day one, it’s still difficult to bat (on) day two, because it quickens up and hardens up,” Healy told SEN.
“Just don’t be disastrous in the first innings.”
Brisbane Pitch Report: Local Usman Khawaja can be a big miss
Australia have decided to choose Travis Head over Usman Khawaja in this test. Usman is a local player and has a brilliant record on this ground playing in the Sheffield Shield. Gabba curator David Sandurski has confirmed that the pitch will be similar to the Sheffield Shield games played here on this ground.
“I expect it to be a tad firmer than that (Shield pitch) and probably a tad less in it, but pretty similar,” Sandurski said.
“The wicket has a good coverage of grass that will hopefully aid in producing a traditional Gabba pitch, as long as the weather plays its part.”
In the Sheffield Shield game last month against Western Australia, Queensland bundled out for just 129 runs on this Gabba wicket, but Khawaja played a stellar knock of 70 runs in it. Head has scored 394 runs at 49.25 in the Sheffield Shield this season, whereas Khawaja has scored 460 runs at 65.71.
