Getting rid of the Gabba cricket pitch

[LIONS then DAYLIGHT]

Drop in wickets can be good but the hard part is they need more delicate and specific prepartion.

WSC had drop in wickets and the cricket was fine.

But the Gabba is more a cricket ground then an AFL ground to me, so it should stay a cricket ground.

 

[Crimso]

Look guys, why can't there be a compromise on this. Make it a win / win for both sides?

Just dig up the top bit, you know, maybe the top say 100 - 150mm? It can stay hard under that and some soft soil could be put in for the footy and later the hard stuff can go back in. Hit it with a roller for a couple of days, and bingo, you've got your pitch back in tip top shape.

The only problem I have with the pitch is when it rains, it appears to become pretty slippery and very muddy. Could be fun to play footy on, but this must make it a mess for the curator.

I think it pretty funny how it's roped off after a game to keep the public off it.

 

[Chasing the Dream]

A solution came to me today.

Instead of a drop in cricket wicket, why not use a drop in centre square.

Problem solvered.

 

[Ruse]

A solution came to me today.

Instead of a drop in cricket wicket, why not use a drop in centre square.

Problem solvered.

How about if we relocate the Lions to the new home of AFL, Gold Coast Stadium on the Gold Coast.

 

[Chasing the Dream]

How about if we relocate the Lions to the new home of AFL, Gold Coast Stadium on the Gold Coast.

Now you are just being silly

BTW, I went to Skilled Park last Friday night. What a waste of $160m. Great place to watch sport from, but when it takes you 2 1/2 hours to get home and you only live a 5-10 minute drive away, something is wrong

 

[blynd_freddie]

Now you are just being silly

BTW, I went to Skilled Park last Friday night. What a waste of $160m. Great place to watch sport from, but when it takes you 2 1/2 hours to get home and you only live a 5-10 minute drive away, something is wrong

For goodness sake Phileas it’s time to up grade your balloon. Send Passepartout out to purchase an ultra-light, NOW.

 

[Warwick]

Now you are just being silly

BTW, I went to Skilled Park last Friday night. What a waste of $160m. Great place to watch sport from, but when it takes you 2 1/2 hours to get home and you only live a 5-10 minute drive away, something is wrong

That's the great thing about Suncorp.

Even when there is over 52 thousand people at a game, the crowd clears in about 30 mins. You basically walk straight onto a train and you are home.

 

[Chasing the Dream]

^^^^

Exactly.

They had buses, but unlike Suncorp where they just seem to be lined up, there was sometimes a 2-3 minute wait between them.

I was travelling to Pac Fair, as many were, and the wait was frustrating to say the very least. My brother -in-law is a Cowboys fan, and waiting after a loss seemed to be worse for him as well

 

[Old Den]

I'm a bit hazy about this,but I saw somewhere recently in passing that a drop in wicket at the Gabba has been ruled out and I can't find the source again

The reason stated as having a big bearing on this ruling is that there are 40 days of cricket each year as against 11 days of footy

Well IMO,there is only the 5 days(if it doesn't rain) of the Test match that count as to the reputation of the Gabba wicket in cricket circles

The other 35 could easily be played on drop in pitches - especially all the one dayers.including the ODIs as,by preference,they are played on 2 or 3 day old pitches - all of these 35 or so games are played on the drop in pitches at the MCG without any hassle - and it looks like the Gold Coast AFL club are going to play some games at the Gabba

I think that "where there's a will there's a way" is appropriate to this dangerous situation - some lateral thinking and pro active action here could provide a happy ending to all this - after all,we humans are doing soil testing on Mars as I type

 

[brisbanelioness]

I posted this on the Media Watch thread a while ago:

In case you haven't heard enough about the Gabba's pitch lately, Charmo speaks out about it here and callers (all 3 of them! Not exactly a cross section of Brissie) offer their opinion.
http://www.triplem.com.au/brisbane/s...egends/listen/
Aker, never one to miss an opportunity, has his say too. You can read it here.
http://blogs.news.com.au/couriermail...itch_the_pitch

 

[brisbanelioness]

Browny has his say too. Click below:

http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/sport/afl/story/0,27046,23853729-5016169,00.html

 

[brisbanelioness]

Gabba plan hit for six


I think this is the article you were referring to.

http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/sport/afl/story/0,27046,23970694-5016181,00.html

 

[Hollow Knight]

Gabba plan hit for six


I think this is the article you were referring to.

http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/sport/afl/story/0,27046,23970694-5016181,00.html

Judy Spence is a moron. She is a shit police minister, and is now doing a shit job with the sports portfolio (a Claytons ministry if there ever was one).

"The Gabba is a multi-purpose venue"... that is her argument FOR keeping the wicket as is?

Yeah compelling argument there.

 

[lionbear]

Personally I can see both sides of the argument...

On the one hand Cricket uses the venue for one test a year and a couple of one dayers, by bringing in a drop in pitch the wicket would lose it's character (Personally I think it is the best test match wicket in Australia at the moment).

On the other hand....

Brisbane Lions bring in a high % of the gate takings and the pitch is dangerous when hard and can ruin a game when wet.

What is the answer?

Hopefully in the next year or two they can develop a drop in pitch the equal of the current wicket so they can get rid of them while keeping the cricket lovers more then happy. But reality is that is 10 years or more away.

I think at the moment minimising risk is what I would do, why do we need a square? Have one pitch left for the Test match each year and make the rest drop in. One pitch is alot smaller then a whole square. As soon as drop in pitch technology is good enough for test cricket bye bye last pitch.

Might not be the best solution but I think it is a comprimise of some saught.

 

[Old Den]

Gabba plan hit for six


I think this is the article you were referring to.

http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/sport/afl/story/0,27046,23970694-5016181,00.html

Yes, that's the article,thanks brisbanelioness - somewhat slack of me not finding it

It is only the characteristics of the test wicket that counts - the players would be quite happy playing on a properly prepared pitch for the other first class games

I'm a real cricket fan and was better at it than any other sport I played - and I played many - I played matches from age 10 to mid thirties and I am sympathetic to the Test pitches reputation - I understand that it has been held by experts that a new wicket is regarded as better after a settling in period,but technology advances are continuing in all fields

The drop in pitches are in use at the MCG and to my mind the number of games per season at each venue is irrelevent to the quality of the ground for football,let alone the safety issue

The relevant costs versus the cash returns is an issue regarding the drop in pitches but surely not an insurmountable one,but obviously the real sticking point is the Test match

 

[Old Den]

Personally I can see both sides of the argument...

On the one hand Cricket uses the venue for one test a year and a couple of one dayers, by bringing in a drop in pitch the wicket would lose it's character (Personally I think it is the best test match wicket in Australia at the moment).

On the other hand....

Brisbane Lions bring in a high % of the gate takings and the pitch is dangerous when hard and can ruin a game when wet.

What is the answer?

Hopefully in the next year or two they can develop a drop in pitch the equal of the current wicket so they can get rid of them while keeping the cricket lovers more then happy. But reality is that is 10 years or more away.

I think at the moment minimising risk is what I would do, why do we need a square? Have one pitch left for the Test match each year and make the rest drop in. One pitch is alot smaller then a whole square. As soon as drop in pitch technology is good enough for test cricket bye bye last pitch.

Might not be the best solution but I think it is a comprimise of some saught.

A very good thought lionbear - one pitch - let's be generous and make it two left in their settled state - you never know,it might turn out that the drop ins(the pitches that is)will do nicely

As I said,some lateral thinking and some good will always helps in situations like this

 

[Hollow Knight]

As I said,some lateral thinking and some good will always helps in situations like this

Tell that to Spence with her blinkered, poll driven rubbish.

Hope a player (opposition) gets injured and sues the government. Money talks.

 

[Old Den]

Lethal weighs in

www.news.com.au/couriermail/sport/afl/

 

[awesome_assassin]

Yeah i read the article in the Brissie paper on the weekend. Spence won't budge by the sounds of it. Im in two minds as well, I love the Lions and Cricket. I dont want to see one of our players or anyone else for that matter ruin a career on that centre square. How would we all feel about the centre square if Browny did his knee, and never came back the same player one month after signing a new 5MIL over 5 year contract( makes you squirmish doesn't it)

I hope a sensible solution can be relsolved. You would think 4-5months at the end of Cricket season would be enough time to make the pitch softer. Maybe we have to cut out Day games at 1pm for the Lions. I know Browny has come out and said the middle is at its hardest during theese games. Im pretty sure Blackys injury flared up after that Melb games a couple months ago on a Sunday arvo at the gabba too. Its a tough one, i don't know what the solution is

 

[John]

Judy Spence is a moron. She is a shit police minister, and is now doing a shit job with the sports portfolio (a Claytons ministry if there ever was one).

"The Gabba is a multi-purpose venue"... that is her argument FOR keeping the wicket as is?

Yeah compelling argument there.

I disagree that Judy Spence is a moron over this issue. I think that she is spot on and I also suspect that the opposition does as well as they have made no comment on this issue. Why would they anyway when the majority of their electorate are not AFL supporters, except in passing, but hardcore cricket supporters.

The Gabba was a cricket ground long before we came onto the scene and also add that the pitch has a great reputation for being one of the best in the world for test cricket. Australian cricket, be that at state or national level, has always paid it's dues over the years. Bear in mind also that the tax payer also paid for the massive upgrade of the Gabba with the redevelopment, not the AFL. Take into consideration that the taxpayer has not been shy in recent years in putting tax payers money into stadium development generally into QLD I think that it is very unfair to single her out over this issue.

 

[Cousin Jed]

Judy Spence is a moron.

Correct.

Anyway the Gabba pitch lost its character years ago. I mean even when they served up a greentop on day 1 in shield games this year it had turned into an absolute road by the middle of day 2.

The test match pitches the last couple of years have had more cracks showing than a plumbers convention.

Nowhere near the "fast and bouncy" pitch they talk about losing.

 

[John]

Correct.

Anyway the Gabba pitch lost its character years ago. I mean even when they served up a greentop on day 1 in shield games this year it had turned into an absolute road by the middle of day 2.

The test match pitches the last couple of years have had more cracks showing than a plumbers convention.

Nowhere near the "fast and bouncy" pitch they talk about losing.

The Gabba being a greentop is a myth. It is based on the fact that England where skittled out in a morning back in 1975. It is was and still an excellent cricket wicket. It gives the quicks a go on the first day and bats well though the next 3. If the spinners are up to it they get good results on the last. I would suggest that it is a bat first wicket in the true tradition of a fast pitch.

Judy Spence is not a moron. She has got this 100% right.

 

[Old Den]

Can anyone detail what has been wrong with Test cricket at the MCG in recent years on the drop in pitches - or the ODIs for that matter?

 

[triplemac]

I don't understand why we are complaining about the pitch really. If, we are concerned, can't we ask for it to be watered? I can't remember but has any of our players been injured from this area of the ground this season, or any other teams players?

 

[acuguy]

Personally i find this topic a difficult one, after playing alot of footy at an oval that had a cricket wicket on it i am well aware of the hardness that can be encountered. Infact you will find that at local level it is far worse than the Gabba. You would basically stay away from the cricket wicket because you would lose all your skin, sprain your joints and worse break something if driven into the ground.

The Gabba cricket wicket is the best in the world as far as i am concerned. It still moves off the seam on day 1 but has beautiful even bounce allowing both front foot and back foot play hence some of the best exhibitions of batting occur at the gabba, it flattens out for days 2 and 3, then it takes spin on day 4 and 5, it doesn't lose bounce throughout the test match and this is why spinners are dangerous at the gabba. The wicket is the jewel in Australian Cricket's Crown, the gabba trust know that and they will not give it up.

We need to get on with it because there will never be a drop in wicket at the gabba, i am sure every effort is being made to improve the centre area.